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

  • Venice Biennale via InstagramVenice Biennale via Instagram
  • Julian Schnabel Moves to Pace as Christie’s Hopes for Another Record PriceJulian Schnabel Moves to Pace as Christie’s Hopes for Another Record Price
  • Nano MiniaturesNano Miniatures
  • New York Times v. Nahmad: Is There an Art & Money Laundering Connection? New York Times v. Nahmad: Is There an Art & Money Laundering Connection?
  • Story of Orientalism's Market RiseStory of Orientalism's Market Rise
  • Stocking Aladdin's CaveStocking Aladdin's Cave

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

  • Gorky, Kandinsky Works to Make First Public Appearance Since 1970s at Sotheby's
  • Soulages First Owned by Senegalese Poet-Politician Léopold Sédar Senghor Sells in France
  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • For 2020, Phillips Brought in Total of $760.4 million, Down 16 Percent from 2019; Asia Sales Up 24 Percent
  • After Pandemic’s Rapid Change, Sotheby’s Has 8 Predictions for 2021
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • A Season of Resilience: Fall 2020 Hong Kong Auction Analysis
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • Calder, Miró, Léger and More Expected to Fetch $22 M. in Christie's London 20th Century Art Sales
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • 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