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Christie’s International said it reopened bidding during a May 13 contemporary art auction after a representative for billionaire Eli Broad raised her paddle from a “blind spot” in its New York salesroom.
The bid came as the hammer was falling on the $3 million sale. In a lawsuit filed May 15 in U.S. District Court, shipping magnate and collector Gregory Callimanopulos claimed his telephone bid for the abstract Sam Francis 1954 painting, “Grey,” had been accepted by the auctioneer.
A Christie’s executive made the ‘blind spot’ claim in court papers filed on May 22 in response to the suit.
Auctioneer Christopher Burge said in an affidavit that “around the same time” that he brought the hammer down to sell the painting for $3 million, plus commission, a Christie’s employee motioned that there was another bidder, in a spot he hadn’t seen. Burge recognized the would-be purchaser as Joanne Heyler, director and chief curator of the Broad Art Foundation, which is funded by Broad.
A colleague of Burge said Heyler was easy to miss. She “was assigned a seat in the front row of a very full room, very close to dais” on which he was standing and to his right, said Laura Paulson, deputy chairman of Christie’s, in court papers.
Planned to Wait
“This can be a blind spot for the auctioneer,” Paulson said.
Like other experienced auction hands, Heyler said in her affidavit that she planned to pursue the painting all along “but to wait until the bidding was almost over before making a bid.”
Heyler offered $3.1 million. Callimanopulos countered via telephone with $3.15 million and Heyler followed up with a winning bid of $3.2 million. Including buyer’s commission, the Broad Foundation paid $3.7 million.
Burge said the Christie’s catalog for the sale says the “auctioneer has the right at his absolute and sole discretion to refuse any bid, to advance the bidding in such a manner as he may decide” and to “determine the successful bidder,” Burge said in his affidavit.
Christie’s provided a sworn statement by Sandra Cobden, senior counsel and head of “dispute resolution” for the house. She said after reviewing several video recordings of the sale, from different angles, Heyler’s paddle went up before the hammer came down.
Christie’s said in a statement: “While we have great respect for Mr. Callimanopulos and value our longstanding relationship with him, we remain confident in our position regarding this litigation.”
In his suit, Callimanopulos sought a declaration that the work is his, for $3 million, plus commissions. He also seeks attorney’s fees and “other, further and different relief” as the court deems just and proper.
Callimanopulos’s lawyer, Jeffrey Dine, didn’t return a call. (Bloomberg)
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