'Panama Papers' & the art world
April 8 2016
Picture: Christie's
The 'Panama Papers' leak has prompted a fascinating piece in The Guardian about the famous Ganz sale of modern art at Christie's in 1997. The sale was seen as a beginning of the boom in modern art prices. It appears that the Ganz sale was effectively guaranteed by the auction house, although no mention of the guarantee was made in the catalogue. The Ganz collection was bought before the sale by Christie's then largest shareholder, Joe Lewis. Says The Guardian:
In a secret deal six months earlier, an offshore company whose bank account was controlled by the secretive billionaire currency trader Joe Lewis had bought all of the most valuable works. On the same day, it had contracted to auction them at Christie’s, to be marketed as the Ganz collection.
