Collector and former MoMA President Agnes Gund is profiled in the Wall Street Journal this week, discussing the state of the market, her focus on female artists, and her organization Studio in a School, an arts program offering training in teaching art to young students.  “If it’s taught well, art really is important to kids early on,” she says. “It helps children develop language and allows them to see themselves in a way that isn’t right or wrong, because if they draw an animal with five legs instead of four, nobody’s criticizing them for it.” (more…)

Professional Gambler and Collector David Walsh is interviewed in the Financial Times this week, discussing his recently founded Mona Art Museum in Tasmania, and his vision for its collection and expansion.  “I’ve got four or five works by James Turrell which will go in the new wing along with a few Jean Tinguely pieces. I like kinetic stuff, I like weirdness,” he says. “The budget for the new extension is about $8m, the art will cost another $2m to $3m.” (more…)

François Pinault is reportedly looking to Paris for the potential site of a museum housing his collection of art, WWD reports.  “He has met with [Paris mayor] Anne Hidalgo, who expressed her interest,” says a source close to Pinault. “They are looking together.” (more…)

Collector Bert Kreuk has won his lawsuit with Danh Vo, forcing the artist the create a room-sized installation work, after the artist delivered a much smaller-sized work.  Kreuk will pay the artist $350,000 for the piece, but Vo must deliver the piece by a set date.  If not, will be fined $10,000 for each day after he fails to produce the work.     (more…)

Artist Bernar Venet’s Venet Foundation and Museum in Le Muy, France, is the subject of a New York Times profile this week, documenting the artist’s impressive collection of major American artists, including Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt, which the artist often secured through barters or purchases on “friend rates.”  “Our works had no commercial value,” Mr. Venet says of the works he often traded his own pieces for. “We produced more than we sold.” (more…)

The New York Post quotes an unnamed source disclosing that the mystery buyer of the record setting, $179 Million Pablo Picasso several weeks ago in New York is former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.  “The painting almost certainly will not go on public display in Qatar because of the nudity, even though it is a cubist work,” the source says. (more…)

Collector Bob Rennie is interviewed in Bloomberg this week, offering his reflections and tips on starting a dedicated art collection, including his takes on art as investment.  “We can’t pretend that art is not an asset,” he notes. “It has to be managed.” (more…)

Adam Lindemann is opening a new gallery in Los Angeles, the aptly titled Venus Over Los Angeles, which will open downtown in April with a show of work by Dan Colen.  “I don’t know that I’m going to be the person to find the next great L.A. artists,” Mr. Lindemann tells the New York Times, “but it’s a great place for huge sculpture, huge paintings.” (more…)

The New York Times reports on Larry’s List, the Hong Kong-based agency that compiles comprehensive profiles on collectors around the world.  Its first published report, has placed 8,000 to 10,000 collectors worldwide shopping at major fairs like Art Basel.  “Collectors are much more influential than they were 20 years ago and that influence is increasing,” says founder Magnus Resch . “More collectors are opening their own spaces and taking a leading role in museums, influencing the direction they take. They’re also pushing up the auction prices of their favorite artists.” (more…)

Following the reception of Stefan Simchowitz’s profile in the New York Times, Jerry Saltz has taken to the New York Magazine website, publishing a considered analysis of both the article and the art world’s response to Simchowitz’s aggressive approach, noting the conditions that may generate such mixed feelings on the collector.  “More and more artists now appear resigned to a cynicism that basically says, ‘The whole art world sucks; Simchowitz doesn’t suck anymore than anything else.'” He writes. “Many now see Simchowitz as an outlaw/do-gooder ‘disrupter’ invading the closed domain of the bad gallery world and spreading the wealth around.” (more…)

Alberto Mugrabi is selling his Gramercy Park North home, an $8 million, 2,729-square-foot three-bedroom apartment.  The listing, currently posted online, shows Mugrabi’s storied collection of art currently on the walls, including works by Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Richard Prince. (more…)

The New York Times profiles movie producer and collector Stefan Simchowitz, who has drawn sharp criticism from many market insiders for his approach to patronage and collecting emerging artists.  “I’m looking for the big fish,” Simchowitz tells the New York Times. (more…)

A recent article by the New York Times cites the newest trend among today’s ultra-rich art collectors is the founding of their own boutique museums to house their collection, tracing the trend back to François Pinault’s purchase of the Palazzo Grassi in Venice in 2006.  Other museums covered include Bernard Arnault’s Fondation Luis Vuitton, and Eli Broad’s Los Angeles museum currently under construction. (more…)

The New York Times reports that hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen is the collector who purchased Alberto Giacometti’s Chariot last week at Sotheby’s for over $100 million.  “Steve is a very serious, very astute collector,’’ says dealer William Acquavella said. “He also has just the right instincts, ones that can’t be learned from reading art history books.’’ (more…)

The Wall Street Journal profiles the work of Xin Li, the former professional basketball player and model who has become Christie’s top resource in courting billionaire Asian collectors as its Deputy Chairman for the continent.  “I used to get up at 5 a.m. to go to play basketball in minus-30-degree weather,” Ms. Xin says during the interview. “I learned how to focus.” (more…)

Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani of Qatar passed away unexpectedly this week at his home in London.  The former president of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage from 1997 to 2005, Al-Thani was at one point considered among the most influential art buyers in the world, and oversaw the initial stages of a massive museum-building project in the Gulf. (more…)

The New York Times takes an in-depth look at the ongoing court battle between Ronald Perelman and Larry Gagosian, noting the immense legal fees that the collector has racked up (over $3 million) in his ongoing battle over the sale of a Cy Twombly work he claims was fraudulently overpriced, and Gagosian’s subsequent lawsuits over his failure to pay.  “Ron Perelman’s disingenuous claims that he is a crusader are nothing more than a cover for the fact that he is a notorious bully with a well-known history of filing meritless litigations who once again won’t pay what’s owed,” says Gagosian’s lawyer, Matthew S. Dontzin. (more…)

Miami collector Gary Nader has announced plans for his new museum, focusing on Latin American art and featuring about 600 paintings, drawings and sculptures from his personal collection.  “The influence of Latin America in the U.S. is extremely prominent,” he says. “We want to tell the story.” (more…)

Russian entrepreneur, mathematician, engineer and collector, Inna Bazhenova has purchased the Art Newspaper, with the intent of helping in the development of the site’s online offering.  “The quality of its journalism and scholarship are outstanding and its excellent coverage of international art news is vital in our global environment,” she said in a statement. “I want to reassure you that The Art Newspaper will retain complete editorial independence, now and for as long as I own it. My aim is to invest in it so that it may remain as good as it is today.” (more…)

Maria Bukhtoyarova is the subject of a profile in the Wall Street Journal this week, as the young collector (just over 30), reviews her already impressive collection of works.  “I got interested in art in the late 2000s when I was working for L’Officiel magazine in Moscow,” she writes.  “In 2009, I went to Venice to visit the Biennale. It was an experience that brought me into the art world. I was fascinated by all the art around me and its power.” (more…)

The lawsuit between Ronald Perelman and Larry Gagosian is still underway, with Perelman launching a subpoena demanding information on Gagosian’s previous deals with Columbian collector José Mugrabi.  Perelman maintains that the work in question, a Cy Twombly allegedly sold to Mugrabi before Perelman bought it for $10.5 million, was part of a scheme to manipulate the price, while Gagosian is also charging that he lost money on the deal. (more…)

An article in the New York Times profiles Dutch art collector Joop van Caldenborgh and his sculpture garden outside the Hague. While the garden might be privately owned, its collection of works by sculptors such as Henry Moore, Sol LeWitt, and Antony Gormley is available to the public through curators and guided tours. The article also reports that the impressive collection is made more attractive by its thoughtful arrangement, which allows the sculptures, no matter the size, room to stand out. (more…)

The New York Times has published another survey on the contemporary auction market, focusing on the gradual concentration of collectors at the highest tiers of art collecting towards blue-chip artists and trusted names, making competition for these works all the more fierce, and the prices that much higher.  “The sleepy days of collecting are over,” says Amy Cappellazzo of the New York-based Partners agency. “The wealthiest of the wealthy now view art as an alternative currency. It’s become a very big business.” (more…)

Venus Over Manhattan’s Adam Lindemann has penned an op-ed for Gallerist today, humorously reflecting on the popularity of Instagram among collectors, dealers, artists and consultants, and his love of those willing to ruthlessly critique any and all contemporary art.  “It’s perfect for people with zero attention span, zero education and zero interest in learning about anything—perfect, in other words, for the art collectors of today,” he writes. (more…)