A monumental 17,000 word mega dealer profile Larry Gagosian in The New Yorker by award-winning author Patrick Radden Keefe is making waves with his revelations about the (usually) ultra-private mega dealer. Keefe first sets the scene by going to see Larry (78) in his sumptuous pad located in Amagansett, “the best town in the Hamptons”.
“Gagosian sat on a leather sofa in the living room, with his back to the ocean view, and faced a life-size Charles Ray sculpture of a male nude, in reflective steel, and a Damien Hirst grand piano (hot pink with blue butterflies) that he picked up at an auction a few years ago, for $450,000.”
The article dives right into the heart of the matter, pointing out that Gagosian “is wary of art dealers who refer to themselves as ‘gallery owners,’ which he considers a pretentious euphemism that obscures the mercantile essence of the occupation.” It’s also fair to say, Keefe points out, that “one of the ways Gagosian has transformed the art business is to normalize poaching.” His answer ? “Gagosian scorns any suggestion that pushing artists away from other dealers is unsportsmanlike.”
The question of succession also occupies an important place. “Gagosian has no children. Having built this global colossus, he is now besieged by speculation about what will happen when he is no longer in charge,” says Keefe who discusses the new star-studded board that convened last year (Sofia Coppola et al) to oversee future plans. “That’s not really what’s driving it,” Gagosian says. “I don’t see it, per se, as succession planning.”
There are fascinating personal details. In 1969, Gagosian pleaded guilty to two felony forgery charges, stemming from his use of someone else’s credit card. “There was a brief and reckless wedding, in Vegas, to a college girlfriend, Gwyn Ellen Garside. They divorced after sixteen days. It was ‘stupid’ to marry so young, Gagosian now says,” Keefe writes. lies).
Many friends and colleagues explain why Gagosian makes the art world go round. The British painter Jenny Saville highlights his motivation. “Even if he’s having dinner or vacationing on a boat, it’s not a vacation. All fun dinners—they have a raison to be fun,” she says. Keefe also dissects the defining relationships in Larry’s life, highlighting what he sold to late media titan Si Newhouse and why his mentor, legendary dealer Leo Castelli means so much to him.
And what about ethics? “In recent years, Gagosian has also done a lot of business in the United Arab Emirates, a country with an abysmal human rights record and an attractive amount of collectors,” Keeffe writes. “I asked Gagosian if there was anyone he would refuse to deal with on ethical grounds. He said he might not be dealing with a ‘convicted murderer’, but he didn’t want to draw such lines when it came to lesser allegations. ‘If the money is right, if the transaction is right, I won’t be a moral judge,’ he said.
