Robin Pogrebin’s New York Times column announces that the estate of Tom Wesselmann, which has been holding something of a bake off recently, has chosen a dealer to represent the artist after a number of years being independent:

Recently, the family came to feel that it needed a dedicated gallery, particularly at auction, where prices for Wesselmann’s work dropped after the economic downturn in 2008. “You want to have engaged dealers,” Mr. Wesselmann said. “Not creating an artificial market, but they can motivate their client base and bid themselves. We had no one protecting the market for a number of years.”

Now the estate has decided to be represented by two dealers, [Almine] Rech and Larry Gagosian, who will also jointly publish the catalogue raisonné of Wesselmann’s “Great American Nudes,” to be completed in 2018.

“This is an artist who has a lot of room to grow in terms of curatorial development and also market development,” Mr. Gagosian said.

“It’s got an edge to it; to my eye, it seems very fresh — it hasn’t been overexposed,” he added of the work. “The way he deals with sexuality, the way he deals with feminism — there’s a controversy to it that’s very timely, very provocative. It hasn’t been overly homogenized. It sets off sparks.”

Pop Artist Tom Wesselmann’s Estate Will Be Represented by 2 Dealers (The New York Times)