Tainted Love: How Louise Nevelson’s Heirs Stifled Her Market

Colin Gleadell tells the saga behind Louise Nevelson’s stalled market. The story puts Pace in the role of Nevelson’s savior but we’re left wondering what’s been happening in the 11 years since the gallery took over the estate’s inventory:

After she died in 1988, her son, Mike, who resented her dealer, Arne Glimcher of the Pace gallery, who took over any managerial role he had, put all her sculptures into a barn, restricting dealers from showing them. There was also a dispute between Mike and his mother’s assistant about the inheritance of a number of valuable works. It wasn’t until 2005 that Mike, in his eighties and in need of cash, released the works, selling them to Glimcher and two other galleries. The effect has been increased museum exposure (Tate currently has a room devoted to her work) and increased prices. Nevelson’s record $253,000, set in 1989, remained in place for 18 years, but has been exceeded many times since 2007, when Glimcher got to work restoring her reputation.

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