Sotheby's Files $16.8 Million Suit Agains Art Collector

The NY Times is reporting that on September 2nd Sotheby's filed a $16.8 million law suite against internet entrepreneur and C-Net founder Halsey Minor for failure to pay for three paintings. The most prominent of the three was Edward Hicks' "The Peaceable Kingdom With the Leopard of Serenity". Halsey bid the record price of $9.6 million for an American folk art painting.

The NY Times article states Sotheby's is claiming Minor informed them he has not paid because he was owed money and was unable to afford the payment. Halsey Minor is claiming he has not paid because Sotheby's failed to disclose it had a financial interest in the painting, and therefore a conflict in marketing and scholarship. Sotheby's spokeswoman Diana Phillips talked to the NY Times and stated "the auction house had fully complied with all consumer regulations involving such disclosures."

I have posted over the past several weeks two articles on similar situations with Australian auctions Deutscher-Menzies and Lawson-Menzies, and wondered if the situation might have ripple effects here in the states. My posted on August 7th stated "The main question I have is, are the Australian issues pertinent to appraisers and auction houses here in the US. I would say, very possibly it is." To read the previous AW posts on the Australian Auction Houses click HERE and HERE.

To read the full NY Times article click HERE.