The billionaire investor Ronald Perelman and his longtime friend and art dealer, Larry Gagosian, both filed lawsuits in State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Wednesday, with each man claiming the other cheated him out of millions of dollars over art purchases, Bloomberg reported.
Mr. Perelman's suit states that Mr. Gagosian “took advantage of his position of trust†to push his client into buying a $4 million granite sculpture, “Popeye,†by Jeff Koons. What Mr. Perelman did not know was that Mr. Gagosian had a financial incentive to prevent Mr. Perelman from reselling “Popeye†for more than he paid for it, the lawsuit states. “Secret contract provisions†between Mr. Koons and Mr. Gagosian, it adds, stipulated that the artist would receive a large percentage of any profit earned if the gallery resold the work for more than $4 million, and so “detrimentally affected Gagosian's ability and willingness to repurchase or resell Popeye above the price paid by plaintiffs.â€
Mr. Gagosian, a powerhouse dealer who represents art world stars like Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol and Richard Serra, charges that Mr. Perelman failed to pay for a $12.6 million sculpture and a $10.5 million painting that were delivered to his East Hampton home, instead offering pieces from his own collection as partial payment. “Following the non-payment, defendants engaged in a series of sham settlements and deceptive maneuvers designed to force the gallery into spending tremendous capital to cover shortfalls, to cloud the title of artworks defendants forced the gallery into accepting as barter,†the suit charges. (The artists were not identified.)
“Perelman's actions have caused the gallery to lose millions of dollars,†the suit adds.
Christine Taylor, a spokesman for Mr. Perelman, said in a statement that the gallery's “complaint is frivolous†and that “Gagosian has used his dominance of the market for contemporary art to enrich himself at the expense of his customers.â€
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