A Billionaire Art Collector’s Lawsuit Against Gagosian Over Delayed Jeff Koons Works Can Proceed, Judge Rules

Billionaire financier and Museum of Modern Art trustee
Steven Tananbaum’s lawsuit against dealer Larry Gagosian over the
delayed delivery of a multi-million-dollar sculpture by Jeff Koons
can proceed, a New York state supreme court judge has ruled.

Tananbaum initially filed suit April 2018 after waiting several
years—much longer than he says he expected—for three sculptures by
Koons that he agreed to purchase, starting in 2013.

Gagosian Gallery attempted to dismiss Tananbaum’s claims,
asserting that he is a “highly sophisticated art collector” who was
aware of Koons’s reputation as “a perfectionist who often takes
years” to complete works.

The judge, Saliann Scarpulla, denied some of Tananbaum’s claims,
including breach of good faith, but said that his argument for
breach of contract could move forward.

The case hinges largely on a legal technicality over whether the
sculptures—titled Venus, Eros, and
Diana—should be considered “limited-edition multiples,”
“fine art,” or “copies,” which are subject to different disclosure
requirements under the New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law
(NYACAL).

“Gagosian moves to dismiss the NYACAL claims on the basis that
the Works at issue are fine art, which excludes multiples,”
Scarpulla wrote. For one of the works, Venus, she agrees
that the purchase agreement made clear that it’s not a copy.
But the others “may qualify as limited-edition multiples,” she
wrote. “Tananbaum has sufficiently alleged that NYACAL’s
disclosure requirements apply to Eros and
Diana.”

Neither attorneys for Tananbaum nor Gagosian responded to
requests for comment. Tananbaum’s attorney told Bloomberg that her client was
pleased with the decision.

According to court papers, Tananbaum first agreed to buy Koons’s
Balloon Venus Hohlen Fels (Magenta) in September 2013
for $8 million, plus tax. While waiting for the sculpture’s
completion and making payments as agreed upon, he also visited
Koons in his studio and agreed to acquire two other work,
Eros and Diana.

Tananbaum eventually demanded photos of the works in production,
he alleges in his complaint. After Gagosian failed to provide
photos, Tananbaum purportedly exercised his option to cancel”
purchase agreement for Diana. Gagosian declined this
request as premature.

Venus was estimated to have been completed by the end
of last month while Eros is estimated to be completed by
October. Diana has no specified delivery
date and, the complaint says, is “indefinitely
delayed.”

Koons cemented his position
as the most expensive living artist—once again—this past May, when
his shiny stainless-steel sculpture Rabbit (1986),
estimated at $50 million to $70 million, soared to a final price of
$91 million with premium at Christie’s. The allure of
Rabbit, which is considered the holy grail of Koons works
among top collectors, was further burnished by its longtime
ownership by the late publishing magnate S.I. Newhouse.

The final price far surpassed the previous Koons record
of $58.4 million and put the artist back on top as the most
expensive living artist, a title he briefly lost to David Hockney.

Depositions in the Tananbaum case are due by December 19 and
expert disclosure must be completed in February 2020.

The post A Billionaire Art Collector’s Lawsuit Against
Gagosian Over Delayed Jeff Koons Works Can Proceed, Judge Rules
appeared first on artnet News.