“Le marchand - voilà l’ennemi!”, said Picassso of art dealers, referring perhaps to his own dealer, Wildenstein.

Les Pains de Picasso (Picasso’s Bread), reportage for Le Point, Vallauris, 1952. Image: dailyrefill.blogs.com

This article from The Economist is a good quick weekend read.

Find it HERE

The late Daniel Wildenstein and his two sons Alec and Guy photographed by Helmut Newton.
Image: petroz.com

There’s more gossipy reading on the uber-art collecting family right HERE

The article asks whether dealers are the saints or the sinners of the art world. Perhaps in an effort to avoid having to find out, a new model of artist has arisen, exemplified by British enfant terrible Damien Hirst who seems to be taking not only his career, but the market for his work, into his own hands.

(Even as his own hands have less and less to do with actual art making.)

Damien Hirst at the exhibition In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Image: BBC/heise.de

Hirst has famously negotiated to buy his own work back in the past, which makes his dealer, Jay Jopling seem somewhat superfluous.

Now he has joined with an investor group to purchase For the Love of God, his famous diamond-studded skull for 50 million British Pounds.

Read the details HERE