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Buying & Selling with Brant

December 31, 2011 by Marion Maneker

Peter Brant sits with Vanessa Friedman for a “Lunch with the FT” column and opens up about his goals as a collector and views on his art as an asset:

“Long-term I would, maybe, put a collection in a place – a city, a state, an institution – that really wants to have it,” Brant says. “But the only way to get a great offer for that is to build a great collection.” He often sells pieces to buy other pieces or, if necessary, to fund his pulp and paper business.

“If I have to raise money, it’s what I do,” he says, though there are pieces he would never part with. When I ask him what he would take to a desert island, he says, “a little portrait of Marilyn Monroe Warhol did that used to belong to Philip Johnson called ‘Licorice Marilyn’ and one called ‘Blue Shot Marilyn’, that I bought in 1967 for $5,000. It literally got shot, and then Andy covered up the bullet hole like it was a pimple. I love that piece.”

He adds: “If I had all the art I had sold since I was 18, I would have one of the best art collections in the world. Really. But you have to operate on the premise everything can shift at any time.”

Lunch with the FT: Peter Brant (Financial Times)

Brant Awareness

April 19, 2011 by Marion Maneker

The New York Observer sees a long-range, well-planned plot by Peter Brant to raise the value of Josh Smith’s work in Brant’s new exhibition:

Mr. Brant prides himself on his Pied Piper reputation for spotting new talent and leading others to it. “You have to remember that I asked Josh to do the show two years ago, and Urs [Fischer] three and a half years ago. Now Urs is recognized as one of the best contemporary artists in America. Josh has the Venice Biennale,” is in talks for some shows in California and has a major commission from Dakis Joannou in Greece.

It’s no coincidence that the exhibition will also expose his work to important collectors just in time for the May contemporary art auctions, potentially raising his prices there. Mr. Smith didn’t do too well at Phillips de Pury last year: Of the four pieces he had on the block, two didn’t sell and one fell below its circa-$15,000 estimate. This year, he has two works in its May 13 sale, a 2007 painting estimated disingenuously low (it’s a way to manufacture bidding fever) at $8,000 to $12,000, and a pair of collages at about $25,000.

Art World ‘Bad Boy’ Josh Smith Is Peter Brandt’s New Protégé (Observer.com)

 

Brant & Seymour Reconcile

September 20, 2010 by Marion Maneker

It was always a strange divorce. Now it’s become astonishing. Peter Brant and Stephanie Seymour have reconciled and asked a judge to throw out the divorce proceedings. That’s what the NY Post says and they’re never wrong:

Seymour and her billionaire, paper-magnate husband Peter Brant walked into Middletown Superior Court hand-in-hand, much to the amazement of reporters, before facing a judge. Instead of the start of a bitter divorce battle, the couple said they had called off the divorce and planned to stay together. Asked by a reporter what Seymour planned to get out of the hearing, the Victoria’s Secret model said, “Peace.” Inside the courtroom, Superior Court Judge Lynda Munro said, “After the first hearing with you, I said I thought you were going to reconcile and I’d forgotten about it.” Munro ended the 10-minute hearing by saying, “I’m a true believer in marriage. It’s hard work growing old together, but it’s actually sort of fun.” Seymour and Brant walked out of court without making a comment.

Model Seymour, Mogul Hubby Call Off Divorce (NY Post)

Brant's Paper Company Files

March 2, 2010 by Marion Maneker

Peter Brant’s White Birch filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Virginia:

White Birch is seeking debtor-in-possession financing of $140 million and is using Lazard Ltd. as a financial adviser. White Birch said it will remain in business.

According to Debtwire, Greenwich-based Black Diamond Capital is the main vulture-investor hedge fund holding White Birch debt, and in November the trade publication reported White Birch was working on a restructuring agreement with Credit Suisse, which is the agent for the company’s $653 million syndicated credit facility.Continue Reading

Peter Brant Defends Himself

January 23, 2010 by Marion Maneker

Peter Brant

The New York Times goes after Peter Brant as diminished figure of the boom years, trying to hang the man for hubris. Instead, they get an interview with the newsprint tycoon. It’s well known that White Birch–a private company–has restructured its debt based upon the collapse of newsprint prices caused by the fall of advertising expenditures.  Rumors coming from the legal community also say that White Birch is cannily constructed and Brant has protected himself well. Nonetheless, the Times story will be of interest for several reasons. If you’ve wanted to know more about Brant’s business dealing and, of course, for a better understanding of Brant’s art holdings and practices. In the interest of brevity and not to republish too much of the Times’s story here, we’ll concentrate on the art. (Pay particular attention to the comments about Brant’s art dealing at the end):

One person in the art market who has negotiated with Mr. Brant described him as a rather exasperating customer. “Even if you’ve done a bad deal with him before, the stuff he’s got is usually so good that you have to listen to him,” this person said, requesting anonymity because nobody wants to poison a relationship with a major buyer and seller. “You figure it out. And you hope you have your fingers left when you’re done.”Continue Reading

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