Judge Rules in Lehmann v. The Project Worldwide

The legal battle between leading contemporary art collector Jean-Pierre Lehmann and art dealer Christian Haye and his gallery The Project Worldwide came to a conclusion this week. The dispute arose over a unique contract that was to provide Lehmann with the right of first refusal on any work sold by the gallery in exchange for a $75,000 investment with The Project. Lehmann contended that Haye failed to offer Lehmann works by highly sought-out artist Julie Mehretu, instead providing others with options on Mehretu's work. The judge has ruled in favor of Lehmann, costing the gallery $1,736,148 in damages (subject to appeal). Although it's always difficult to have sympathy for the wealthy when they don't get what they want, I'm sure Lehmann can afford his share of Mehrutu's work now. A previous article in the New York Magazine provides greater insight into the inner workings of the collector-dealer relationship and its impact on an artist's market value.