Billionaires Should Know Art Dealers Can't Be Trusted, New York Court Says

Art enthusiasts say high-end contemporary art is a lasting record of our culture. Maybe it is, but the thing about “lasting” is that we’ll all be dead before we know who’s right. One thing is certain: From a commercial perspective, contemporary artworks have become trophies for the 1 percent. And those ultrawealthy buyers know what they’re getting.

Or so says the New York Supreme Court. Billionaire investor Ronald Perelman sued his longtime friend and art mentor, Larry Gagosian, owner of the eponymous chain of art galleries, over a Jeff Koons statue, Popeye, for which Perelman paid $4 million in 2010. Perelman alleged that Gagosian mislead him on the “market price” of it and other works and their potential for resale. The appellate division of the New York State Supreme Court (PDF) isn’t having it. On Thursday it dismissed the case, arguing that Perelman should have known better. Associate Justice David Friedman wrote: