Roman Kraussl Publicizes His Art Index: Taking a page from Jerry Saltz, Roman Kraussl—who was hired to create an art market index for Germany’s Manager Magazine—is publicizing it by focusing on the absence of women in his top 50 artists. Which is not to say that there are no women whose art work has become quite valuable:

• The most sought-after painter is abstract expressionist Joan Mitchell on rank 51 ($ 31 million). “Art of women auctions averaged only half the price of men’s works,” says Kräussl, referring to a study he co-authored on the auction market. Even among the top 20 post-1950 artists, there are only three women: Marlene Dumas ($17m, 109 overall), Cecily Brown ($15m, 116 overall) and Njideka Akunyily Crosby ($10m, 170 overall). …

Dana Schutz Joins Thomas Dane Gallery: Josh Baer had the news late last week but Thomas Dane Gallery has put out a release that noted painter Dana Schutz is not represented by Dane in the UK: “Thomas Dane Gallery is pleased to announce representation of Dana Schutz in the UK. Dana’s first solo exhibition in London will be at the gallery in October 2019.” …

Untangling Belgian Galleries’ Finances: This article from De Tijd assessing the financial health of several well-known Belgian art galleries doesn’t explain where the figures come from. So read it with some skepticism but according to De Tijd, Xavier Hufkens has €46m in turnover; Zeno X has €19m; Tim Van Laere does €4-5m. Those galleries are owned by their principals who retain a fair amount of equity in the businesses. Interestingly, both Almine Rech, whose annual sales are not revealed, and Greta Meert are listed as having only a small amount of equity or even negative equity because of their debt financing. …

LACMA’s Collector’s Committee Weekend Yields 10 Works (Half by Women) for $2.65m: Jori Finkel is always worth reading and her report from LACMA’s annual acquisitions event with its unique reality-TV-style pitch process. LACMA acquired works by Julie Mehretu and Betye Saar, two artists whose work will be the subject of shows at the museum next year:

• an early Ruth Asawa from 1954 for $1m which was compared to a piece bought by Mitchell Rales’s Glenstone for twice the price. LACMA bought the work from “an Asawa heir” at a discount. Finkel wrote, “the Asawa earned the most votes from collectors and was acquired first.”
• According to Finkel, “Lacma’s Modern art curator Carol Eliel made such a persuasive pitch for Betye Saar’s 1998 slavery-themed installation I’ll Bend But I Will Not Break (offered by her gallery Roberts Project for $96,000), that the former acquisitions chair Lynda Resnick motioned to the museum’s director Michael Govan right after and bought it for the museum on the spot.”
• “first-time event-goers Gayle and Tim DeVries also stepped forward to make a purchase for the museum early in the day: a large, kinetic, mirrored sculpture by the Argentine artist Martha Boto recently featured in Dan Cameron’s Pacific Standard Time exhibition Kinesthesia at the Palm Springs Art Museum ($80,000 from the Sicardi Gallery of Houston).”
• Julie Mehretu’s multi-section, multi-layered 2016 print Epigraph, Damascus (sold by Marian Goodman Gallery for $230,000)
• a 61-piece Jennifer Bartlett “plate painting” called House Piece from 1970 ($250,000 from Thomas Solomon Art Advisory)
• two carpets and two prints, all lion-themed, by the contemporary Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli ($39,900 from the artist)
• a large and stylistically varied array of 29 African ceremonial barkcloth paintings
• a larger-than-life seven-headed Nigerian “forest spirit sculpture” designed to protect the Ijo society from invasion ($298,000 from Edwin and Cherie Silver via Plata LLC);
• an expressive Bodhisattva scroll painting by the 18th-century Japanese Zen Master and painter Hakuin Ekaku ($325,000 from Shibunkaku of Kyoto)
• a large Korean gilt-wood Bodhisattva sculpture from 17th-century Korea ($125,000 from dealer Arnold Lieberman of Santa Fe).