Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

The Aggressive $400m-A-Year Auction House at Sea

December 20, 2016 by Marion Maneker

Park West Gallery

Bloomberg has a long, detailed story on Park West Gallery’s $400m-a-year high pressure art sales business on cruise ships. Park West previously had settled several cases about the company’s business tactics, including providing buyers with misleading information about the value of the works of art they were bidding on.

Read the article to get some of the ways Park West discombobulates buyers. But the story closes with this anecdote about founder Albert Scaglione and his tactics for dealing with bad press:

The day before this article went to press, Scaglione sent me an e-mail. It was another chance to observe how Park West operates. During our earlier phone call he had requested that I not use an audio recorder. Now he revealed that he’d been using a recorder on his end and suggested I submit for his verification “anything whatsoever that I said.” Scaglione also wrote, “[W]e have video tapes of all the auctions you attended” on the Epic. “We have a video of each work of art that came up and when you took notes and when you did not.” In at least this one respect, Park West has learned to value the art of authentication.

Ever Bought Artwork on a Cruise? Prepare to Be Seasick  (Bloomberg)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • American Heartland Knows ArtAmerican Heartland Knows Art
  • Design Miami/Basel Plays It SafeDesign Miami/Basel Plays It Safe
  • Live Lots: Christie's Evening Imp/ModLive Lots: Christie's Evening Imp/Mod
  • Clare McAndrew’s UBS Report Says Gallery Sales Down 36% Due to PandemicClare McAndrew’s UBS Report Says Gallery Sales Down 36% Due to Pandemic
  • That’s a Lot of StingelThat’s a Lot of Stingel
  • Sotheby’s Unveils Munch’s $50m Girls on the Bridge for November SaleSotheby’s Unveils Munch’s $50m Girls on the Bridge for November Sale

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Asian Art Market Continues Rapid Ascent at Sotheby’s $270 M. Hong Kong Sales
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • How to Chant Like an Auctioneer
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Sotheby’s to Sell $40 M. Monet Water Lilies Painting in May
  • Tracey Emin Neon Lights Up Sotheby's 'Contemporary Showcase' Pop-Up
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • $1.2 M. Dalí Magazine Painting, Reproduced in Artist's Autobiography to Sell at Auction
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor