The Art Daddy's Weekly Daddy Wrap for 11/1/2024
All the art daddy news that is fit to print.
This week has been filled with lots of cultural art events and happenings. From the ADAA's The Art Show, to auctions, and openings across the city there is always a lot to see and do in NYC and in the art world at large. This week, things seemed to move full steam ahead on social for Daddy when I received a bevy of new followers! This excites me to no end but ngl, does make daddy a little nervous.
Gallery assistant costume by moi.
I also had some pretty spots on art costume ideas I am a bit proud of. From the art history professor, gallery assistant, and art handler, I think these larger art personas were captured down to a T, but I will let you be the judge. I have also had some really lovely chats in my dms lately with people from all across the art sector which I really enjoy so keep it coming daddies!
One big follower was THE Carol Asscher, the current girlfriend of Simon De Pury.
My Halloween auctioneer costume featuring Carol and Simon.
I told her in my dm's that she's doing the lord's work dating Simon, and she really is. Carol doesn't seem to be watching that closely though, and things could still work out in my favor for my 2027 timetable with Simon if he is able to survive another 2 years. Unless that is if Carol is working him too hard at the charity auctions and parties. Go easy on him, Carol.
We will have to see. For now, this week has also been filled with shocking and interesting daddy news. Here are my top headlines for the week. Daddies will be daddies and the art world has to keep it moving.
Sotheby's Closes the Deal with Abu Dhabi company ADQ
Well it's official. Earlier this week Sotheby's announced that their deal with Abu Dhabi's fund and investment company, ADQ would be going through. ADQ is a state-owned entity and has members of government that work within the organization. It also went through a rebranding in 2020 and seeks to now sell itself as a global investor. This was first floated in August, and previously I had noted ethical concerns and the cost of doing business with countries such as these where human rights and LGBTQ+ and women's rights aren't prioritized here. Despite this, Sotheby's will move forward with the deal for many obvious reasons. The company's current value as well as larger details surrounding the deal were not disclosed.
Sotheby’s offices.
This new deal will bring ADQ in as a minority stake holder of the company and will ensure a cash injection of $1 billion dollars. That's no small feat either. According to ARTnews, $800 million of that money will go towards paying down the auction house's debt of $1.65 billion. Additionally, they will also spearhead a new headquarters in Abu Dhabi making them the first in the auction house space to open up shop there. They will also have access to more assets such as real estate through this deal.
As many outlets have reported, Sothebys like other auction houses, has taken a financial hit this year. Their core earnings were down by 88 percent in the first part of 2024 and auction sales followed this trend and were also down by 25 percent, according to the Financial Times.
There were also over 50 people who were laid off this past summer in their London offices which signaled a larger internal business crisis. As things plug in for the reminder of the fall, I am sure many at the auction house are happy for the deal and are ready for a new chapter. Others, myself included however, are waiting to see what how this plays out
The Frick Collection Announces an 2025 Reopening
The Frick, which has undergone a $330 million makeover, announced this week that they are slated to open in April of 2025.The project utilized Selldorf Architects and through this massive remodel the 2nd floor of the historic Fifth Avenue Mansion will now be open to the public. This gives the museum an additional 27,000 square feet of space and there were a number of upgrades and renovations that were done to the building.
The Frick will reopen this spring.
“As we look ahead to reopening our doors, we are excited to welcome visitors back to enjoy what makes the Frick such a unique museum within the cultural landscape of New York City,” Ian Wardropper, the Frick’s outgoing director, said in a statement.
A Historic Leonora Carrington Sculpture Will Go Up For Auction But a Larger Controversy is Now Tied to It
This month the historic 1951 sculpture La Grande Dame (The Cat Woman) from Lenora Carrington will go up for auction at Sotheby's during theNovember at a modern art evening sale where it's expected to fetch $5-7 million. The sculpture was last seen in the 2022 exhibition “Surrealism and Magic: Enchanted Modernity,” which was staged at Venice’s Peggy Guggenheim Collection during the Biennale.
Leonora Carrington, La Grande Dame, 1951. Courtesy of Sotheby's
But according to the The Art Newspaper this week, “experts of Carrington work, the Consejos editioned bronzes have raised doubts about their attribution, with the collector and curator Viktor Wynd describing the Newlands House Gallery exhibition as “an abomination” in the London Review of Books.”
Even Carrigington's own son Gabriel Weisz Carrington, has cast doubt on the work saying they are “bronze monstrosities” that were bought and exhibited in Mexico where the artist lived for years by “swind;ers.” In a 2021 memoir about his mother entitled The Invisible Painting, he wrote “The few sculptures she did create display elegance and artistic balance, qualities that are entirely lacking in these vulgar heaps of bronze, devoid of imagination as they are.”
Another fun Sotheby’s fun fact is that Simon Shaw, a senior specialist and chairman and Sotheby’s lifer was instrumental in bringing her world famous painting to auction last spring. So I am willing go bet that Shaw might have had a hand in this as well.
Who art thou, White Face?, Leonora Carrington from 1959 image courtesy of Sotheby’s.
As the fall auction season kicks into high gear we will now have to see how things play out for the sculpture. Until next week daddies and pray we are still here as we go into a historic election.
In a NYT Style section manner, I also want to set forth some taste making elements.
I am reading: I'm reading this op-ed from Culture & Arts Policy Institute New York, Gonzalo Casals and Mauricio Delfin in ARTnews.
I am drinking: Pomegranate Dragon Fruit Seltzer from Good and Gather
I am looking at: Polling data for the election on a doom scrolling circuit/ the pictures of the Trump dump truck.
Until next time daddies be sure to follow The art daddy substack as well as on Instagram to get your daily dose of daddies. Dm's are always open for news, gossip, and tea sessions.