Frick Acquires First Painting in Nearly 30 Years: The news has been released to the “important” outlets but it is remarkable the number of smart collectors who have first heard of this via Instagram: “Robilant+Voena is proud to announce that the full-length portrait of Prince Camillo Borghese by François-Pascal-Simon Gérard (1770-1837) has been acquired by The Frick Collection.” …
Paulson No Longer to Serve as Christie’s Advisor: Artnet is reporting that Laura Paulson’s transition from Christie’s has accelerated. Some observers were surprised to see Paulson manning a phone on a riser at the front of their Post-War and Contemporary Evening sale with her imminent transition to an advisory role. That transition has not been cut short, according to Artnet: “In recent months, Paulson appeared to have been pushed to the sidelines amid a change in leadership in Christie’s contemporary art department. In July, the auction house announced that she would transition into a less central role as vice chairman of Christie’s Americas advisory board and senior advisor for Christie’s come January. (That is no longer the case.)” For most market participants, July’s announcement of Paulson’s changing role was understood to mean she would work outside of the firm. …
Who’s That Lady? The Daily Mail spotted former model Victoria Silvstedt in Miami for the Art Basel parties. She was also at the Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening sale last month.
Poor Leonardo DiCaprio Can’t Buy a Drawing in Peace: Page Six turns a simple—and hardly newsworthy—negotiation over a Basquiat drawing at Art Basel into a celebrity story. This after the actor had to skip Frieze in New York due to the presence of lookalikes roaming the fair. But the report DiCaprio was haggling over the $850k drawing should be taken with a grain of salt. The tabloid also reported this: “Meanwhile, over at the Helly Nahmad Gallery stand, we are told a number of offers had gone in for the $25 million Pablo Picasso painting “Homme à l’épée” (1969).”
