Puck’s art market expert, Marion Maneker @wallpower.bsky.social, swings by a few galleries on the Upper East Side and gives you the rundown of shows, from Franz Kline to Miquel Barceló.

“For more than 15 years, George Lucas has been quietly building a museum of narrative art, whatever that is. What the museum seems to lack in cohesion and transparency, it makes up for in ego…” @wallpower.bsky.social catches us up the progress of The Lucas Museum:

A new Olga de Amaral retrospective in Miami is a festival of technical skill that puts her fabrics, in the words of ICA Miami’s director, “somewhere between painting and sculpture.” From @wallpower.bsky.social

Puck’s art market expert, Marion Maneker, moderated a panel at the Independent yesterday titled “Downtown Dealers.” To receive Marion’s dispatches on the art market, sign up for his Puck private email @wallpower.bsky.social here: puck.news/newsletters/...

A revealing conversation with gallerists Jeffrey Deitch and Sara Lee Hantman about the generational shift toward integrating design and art, and why serious collectors are moving beyond just paintings on the wall. From @wallpower.bsky.social

At 87 years old, artist David Hockney has the popularity and longevity to have earned another retrospective, this one at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. His volume and valuations beg comparisons with even Picasso… From @wallpower.bsky.social

Here’s what the recent art sales in Paris can teach us about the mood of the market heading into the all-important May sales. From @wallpower.bsky.social

The art market is embracing a rediscovery of historic, previously underappreciated artists. “The Human Situation: Marcia Marcus, Alice Neel, Sylvia Sleigh” exhibition aligns with that trend—while cleverly incorporating contemporary artists. From @wallpower.bsky.social

In her required-reading annual report on the art market, Clare McAndrew gathered responses from 1,600 galleries in 58 countries to convey what it’s like to be an art dealer these days. The short answer: It’s hard. @wallpower.bsky.social breaks it down:

The late Roy Lichtenstein is going to have a banner couple of years, with a Sotheby’s auction in May, a Whitney retrospective next year, and tailwinds from an art market that retreats to beloved artists when surrounded by uncertainty… From @wallpower.bsky.social

Larry Gagosian has launched exhibitions of Pablo Picasso and Willem de Kooning to mark the end of an uptown era and the revitalization of his downtown flagship… From @wallpower.bsky.social

Christie’s May sales will feature works from the $60 million collection of Anne Bass, the late art and ballet patron, which she kept in a Fort Worth house designed by Paul Rudolph. @wallpower.bsky.social has details:

Ed Dolman, the outgoing Phillips executive chairman, opens up about grabbing market share from the Big Two auction houses, expanding into Asia, and the Matisse bronze sale that established Phillips as a player in contemporary. From @wallpower.bsky.social

A new exhibit at the Met, Sargent and Paris, captures a young artist’s decade in Paris at its peak. @wallpower.bsky.social shares his impressions from the show:

Buyers remain wary and sellers are greedy, but the latest New York art sales hint at a new reality… From @wallpower.bsky.social

The MAGA vibe shift has come for public institutions, and museums are emerging as the next target. Will the mood truly impact the way identity art is valued in the culture? Or has the market already moved on? @wallpower.bsky.social explores.

An inside look at The Warehouse, the Dallas exhibition space fusing two collectors—and two generations—to create a hybrid experiential and educational platform to engage with the public. From @wallpower.bsky.social

Why is the Met’s new show, ‘Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature’—a detailed retrospective of an artist that most Americans are only familiar with due to a popular meme—getting so much attention? @wallpower.bsky.social explores:

A discussion with the chief curator of 21c Museum Hotels about the importance of bringing art to the public and the complicated logistics of their hybrid hospitality business. From @wallpower.bsky.social

Exploring the Museo Jumex’s ‘Gabriel Orozco: Politécnico Nacional’ show plus the Royal Academy of Arts’ ‘Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism.’ From @wallpower.bsky.social

A second show of Morandi’s art has opened in NY in the span of 4 months. While artists and collectors swoon over the Italian recluse’s muted masterpieces, his auction market and prices have never followed suit. Will they now? @wallpower.bsky.social explores:

Larry Gagosian is being displaced at his 980 Madison flagship gallery by Bloomberg Philanthropies, which bought the property for $560 million. It’s a fitting end to one era—and a fascinating start to another. From @wallpower.bsky.social

What if the reason for the post-2022 art market failure to launch was that the crucial extra bidders, who can significantly increase a sale price just by being there, had gone missing? @wallpower.bsky.social explores:

Sotheby’s 2024 results call last week—reporting that fine art sales were down 31% last year—had a surprising emphasis on the auction house’s $1 billion real estate portfolio. @wallpower.bsky.social digs in:

Embattled art market company Artnet faces an intense 5 weeks of politicking that will determine, once and for all, who controls its future—and who will prevail in the interminable Weng–Neuendorf battle of wills. From @wallpower.bsky.social

A candid conversation with Rome-based private art dealer Mattia De Luca about his past Giorgio Morandi shows, and the enduring appeal of an artist who made an entire universe out of everyday items. From @wallpower.bsky.social

“The studio seems most concerned with asserting its role as the arbiter of what is, and what is not, a Peter Beard work of art.” @wallpower.bsky.social chronicles the fight over artist Peter Beard’s legacy:

Guillaume Cerutti to take new arts and culture role at Artemis.

Congratulations to Bonnie Brennan, Christie’s next CEO starting February.

“Los Angeles is burning. And one theme of the fires, which are forcing residents to choose between their possessions, is that art is interwoven into our lives.” From @wallpower.bsky.social

Why are we in a phase of the art market that favors private sales? Marion Maneker of Puck's @wallpower.bsky.social explains:

Can a simple concept of art gallery-as-restaurant bring new collectors into the fold? @wallpower.bsky.social scopes out Hauser & Wirth’s Manuela:

Will the strong stock market gains of 2024 translate into art market sales? Has Middle East money returned? What about the rising prominence of India? @wallpower.bsky.social evaluates predictions about the 2025 art market:

Can a simple concept of art gallery-as-restaurant bring new collectors into the fold? @wallpower.bsky.social scopes out Hauser & Wirth’s Manuela:

Sotheby’s bold new fee structure was meant to lower buyers fees to spur business and end the price war between the auction houses. But after it struggled to land property in its main sales centers, it quietly reversed course… @wallpower.bsky.social has the story:

Sotheby's quick reversed, after only one season, their bold and disruptive new fee structure late last week. They rolled back their fees (and added a few points) ending a campaign to remake and industry caught in a cycle of higher fees and deeper competitive giveaways. puck.news/sothebys-aba...

A conversation with Brooklyn Museum director Anne Pasternak and Uovo prize founder Steven Guttman about bestowing this year’s award on Melissa Joseph, the fast-rising textile designer and painter. From @wallpower.bsky.social

Ed Dolman is transitioning out of his role as CEO of Phillips. He will be the executive chairman through the May sales and an advisor thereafter. He’ll be replaced by Martin Wilson as CEO. Wilson’s is currently the company’s Chief legal officer. He has been on the board of Phillips since 2019.

Hello, sports fans … Uovo's founder, Steve Guttman, and the Brooklyn museum's director, Anne Pasternak, spoke with me about their first meeting in Abu Dhabi and how it led to the Uovo prize for a Brooklyn artist, plus more Sotheby's fallout. puck.news/newsletter_c...

The market for pop-cultural artifacts has never been hotter. But the runaway $32 million sale of Judy Garland’s ruby slippers at auction last week brought the point home: When it comes to memorabilia, we’re not in Kansas anymore. From @wallpower.bsky.social

Shortly after closing on a $1 billion financing, Sotheby’s is drastically cutting back staff. What does the future look like for a leaner, meaner auction house? Marion Maneker explores in Puck's @wallpower.bsky.social

There's plenty of fall out from last week's layoffs at Sotheby's, plus we look into the $32.5 million market-resetting sale of Judy Garland's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz: puck.news/newsletter_c...

“While the parties and brand activations might have been toned down—sorry, no Rihanna this year—many attendees said the quality of the art work on offer was better and the prices were more realistic.” Marion Maneker offers his Art Basel Miami postmortem in @wallpower.bsky.social

Forget Art Basel—the real center of Miami’s overachieving art community may be the newish Institute of Contemporary Art, and its wunderkind director Alex Gartenfeld who’s transformed the scene in a mere decade. From @wallpower.bsky.social

It’s the behind-the-scenes story of how a small gouache by Magritte leveraged timing, demand, and deal heat to draft off the Ertegun piece for a new record of its own. From @wallpower.bsky.social puck.news/how-an-18-8-...

There were heroes amid the $1.3 billion in art sales during last week’s New York auctions, and a couple humbling moments, too. But a closer inspection reveals something less flashy… From @wallpower.bsky.social

Look past the spectacle of Cattelan’s $6.2 million duct-taped banana, and it’s clear that the premier auctions showed a steady appetite for the stand-out works—Magritte, Ruscha, Prince—but a less reliable hunger for everything else. From @wallpower.bsky.social

News and notes from the November art sales romp: Buyers have cash and determination, but are still picky; Picasso had a rough night; and Matisse was mixed… Read @wallpower.bsky.social's full dispatch:

A major Artnet shareholder is crying foul over the Neuendorf family’s abrupt cancellation of this week’s annual meeting, delaying an inevitable boardroom showdown… Marion Maneker of Puck's @wallpower.bsky.social has the story:

Christie’s just sold Mica Ertegun’s Magritte for $121.2 million dollars.