Law & Politics Disgraced Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick Has Been Formally Charged by US Authorities With Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft Philbrick is reportedly in the same Oklahoma jail where "Tiger King" Joe Exotic was incarcerated until recently. By Eileen Kinsella, Jul 14, 2020
Auctions Christie’s First-Ever ‘Relay’ Sale Brought in an Impressive $421 Million in a Four-Hour, Four-City Digital Marathon Christie's pulled off a marathon four-hour sale with an innovative new platform. By Eileen Kinsella, Jul 10, 2020
Auctions Sotheby’s Is Nixing Its Three-Year-Old Museum Prize Program, Which Honored Inventive Exhibitions, as It Looks to Cut Costs The auction house said it would still honor all existing grant pledges. By Eileen Kinsella, Jul 9, 2020
Art Fairs With the Fate of the Fair in Question as the Virus Overwhelms Florida, Art Basel Miami Beach Just Gave Dealers More Time to Commit The fair says it is "deeply committed" to holding the event in December "if at all feasible." By Eileen Kinsella, Jul 8, 2020
Law & Politics An Art-Dealing Dynasty Heir Sues Phillips Auction House for Reneging on a Deal After the Artist’s Market Took a Tumble Art dealer Joe Nahmad is suing Phillips after the auction house pulled out of a $5 million guarantee deal for a work by Rudolf Stingel. By Eileen Kinsella, Jul 7, 2020
Galleries Dealers Remain Committed to Hong Kong Despite the New National Security Law—But They’re Looking for Cheaper Spaces to Rent Some galleries are leaving Hong Kong's Central district in favor of a blooming gallery hub in Wong Chuk Hang. By Eileen Kinsella, Jul 6, 2020
Auctions Sotheby’s Middling Impressionist and Modern Sale Nets $62.8 Million Thanks to a Major Boost From Latin American Treasures Sotheby's started off the lengthy auction evening on a strong note, but bidding for Impressionist and Modern art was more subdued. By Eileen Kinsella, Jun 29, 2020
Auctions Led by a Sizzling Bacon, Sotheby’s First-Ever Hybrid Contemporary Evening Sale Format Nets an Impressive $300.4 Million The carefully choreographed sale took place on three continents. By Eileen Kinsella, Jun 29, 2020
Auctions In a Profound Shift, Christie’s Is Eliminating Its Standalone Impressionist and Modern Art Department, Shedding a Significant Amount of Staff in the Process The auction house says the move is a better reflection of how people collect—but it's also a cost-saving measure. By Eileen Kinsella, Jun 26, 2020
Galleries Hauser and Wirth Is the Latest Blue-Chip Gallery to Plan a Hamptons Outpost as the New York Market Moves East The gallery already has spaces in the resort towns of Gstaad and St. Moritz. By Eileen Kinsella, Jun 24, 2020
Art Fairs A Crafty Swiss Financier Is Reportedly Trying to Gather Investors to Wrest Art Basel Away From Its Parent Company, the MCH Group But the MCH Group has its own plans. By Eileen Kinsella, Jun 24, 2020
Auctions Here’s Your Guide to the Top Lots in the First-Ever Hybrid Marquee Summer Auctions, Taking Place Simultaneously In-Person and Online The houses are still banking on trophy-hunting collectors to prop up their rescheduled marquee sales. By Eileen Kinsella, Jun 23, 2020
Art Fairs High-Octane Sales During the VIP Preview of Art Basel’s Second Online Fair Solidify the ‘New Normal’ of the Socially Distanced Art Market The online stand-in for the marquee Swiss fair saw familiar galleries striking plenty of deals under $1 million, but few true fireworks. By Tim Schneider & Eileen Kinsella, Jun 18, 2020
Law & Politics ‘He Didn’t Hide Who He Was’: Locals Describe Disgraced Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick’s Carefree Life on the Lam on a South Pacific Island Locals were aware that authorities were closing in. But Philbrick may have had no idea. By Eileen Kinsella, Jun 17, 2020
Art World As Activists Call for Greater Accountability in Law Enforcement, Some Are Exposing Museums’ Little-Known Ties to Police Departments Museums occasionally hire police officers for security, a practice some activists want stopped. By Eileen Kinsella, Jun 17, 2020