A lawsuit filed yesterday May 11 accuses New York art consultant Lisa Schiff of embezzlement, with three of her clients alleging that the consultant and her company Schiff Fine Arts (SFA) failed to fully compensate them for the sale of 2 .5 million dollars of a work of art. Plaintiffs Richard Grossman and real estate heiress Candace Barasch say Schiff guaranteed to pay their profits from the joint sale of an Adrian Ghenie painting in installments earlier this year, but failed to keep his end of the agreement after asking for an extension. Barasch, Grossman and his wife are seeking more than $2 million in damages after Schiff admitted she didn’t have the money, as first reported by the daily beast.
Barasch, Grossman and Grossman’s unnamed husband were co-owners of Adrian Ghenie’s painting “The Uncle 3” from 2019, a transaction which was orchestrated by Schiff in 2021. The three agreed to share ownership of the painting, with Barasch acquiring a 50% share and Grossman and his wife holding 25% each. According to the lawsuit, Schiff never had Ghenie’s painting delivered to Barasch or Grossman, but kept it in a fine art storage unit in Delaware while billing shareholders for shipping and handling supplies. ‘packaging.
In November 2022, Schiff negotiated the resale of the painting on their behalf through Sotheby’s Hong Kong for a 10% commission, and the work sold privately for $2.5 million between December and January. Things appeared to be going according to plan, and Schiff wired Barasch and Grossman $225,000 each in mid-January before taking his agreed commission of $250,000. Lawyers for the plaintiffs confirmed with Sotheby’s that the painting had been sold and that Schiff had promised to pay the remaining $1.8 million in sale profits to Barasch and Grossman on March 26.
Schiff has not replied yet. Hyperallergic‘s requests for comments.
The lawsuit alleges that Schiff requested a 30-day extension from the original payment date, citing the need to accommodate an alleged delay by Hong Kong buyers. Grossman and Barasch’s wife had known Schiff for nearly 20 years and independently emphasized their closeness to her as a business partner and friend, giving them no reason to feel like anything had gone wrong with the sale. In the lawsuit, Grossman and his wife even called themselves “auxiliary parents” to Schiff’s son, having attended his school functions and related religious ceremonies.
When April 26 was about to turn the corner, Schiff asked Barasch and Grossman for another 14 days, again citing the Hong Kong buyers but remaining certain they weren’t giving up on the purchase. Grossman grew concerned because he and his wife intended to use part of their expected $900,000 profit to move his in-laws into an assisted living facility, but Schiff said she ” was working there” in early May and sent them wide bridges for potential acquisitions at the TEFAF art fair.
It was only after an in-person confrontation last week, May 8, that Schiff reportedly told Grossman’s wife the money wasn’t there and they should contact his attorney. According to the lawsuit, Schiff then doubled down on the text, apologizing and saying, “It’s just complicated.”
The lawsuit claims the Ghenie incident is “part of a much larger Ponzi scheme” in which Schiff would take money from one client to pay another to fund his “lavish lifestyle”. Barasch said Schiff told her she was paying $25,000 a month for her apartment, her son’s private school tuition was $60,000 a year, and her other domestic and international residences and offices. cost tens of thousands of dollars a month. Barasch also recounted how Schiff would spend tens of thousands of dollars on first-class travel, concierge and limo services, couture fashion and jewelry on joint trips to arts events.
Believing that Schiff dissolved profits from the sale of artwork to fund his lifestyle, Barasch, Grossman and his wife are now seeking approximately $2.05 million in damages, reimbursement of the $250 commission $000 from Schiff, legal expense coverage and any other legal relief. for Schiff’s breach of contract. Hyperallergic has contacted Grossman and Barasch’s attorney and will update this article with any additional information.
