When the Long Museum, the private institution founded by Chinese mega-collectors Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei, began selling works last year, it signaled a significant shift in the art market. It wasn’t just that Asian collectors were less active in buying; they were actively selling, too.
Historically, collectors like Liu and Wang had been known for their high-profile acquisitions from Western markets, such as the $34.9 million Modigliani sold at Sotheby’s last year. Now, however, the trend is reversing: these notable works are being sent back to the West, poised to find new buyers. Recently, at least two major paintings on the market appear to be making this journey. A Warhol, rumored to be priced at over $100 million, and a Basquiat, originally sold in 2013 for $29 million, are now back in the Western spotlight.
This shift was highlighted in mid-May, coinciding with major auctions in New York, when Gagosian unveiled “Icons From a Half Century of Art.” This exclusive exhibition, open only to collectors by appointment at Gagosian’s 24th Street gallery in New York, features works by Basquiat, David Hockney, Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Gerhard Richter, Mark Rothko, Richard Serra, Frank Stella, Cy Twombly, and Warhol. Notably, the promotional image for the exhibition on Gagosian’s website is Warhol’s “Mao,” a significant piece from the series of 199 images of the Chinese leader. This particular “Mao,” one of only four giant versions standing 15 feet high, is the only one not housed in a museum.
The Gagosian “Mao” last appeared publicly on the market in 2008 when Christie’s, collaborating with London dealer James Mayor, attempted to sell it in Hong Kong for $120 million—a potential record for Warhol at the time. However, it didn’t sell, and the financial recession followed. Yet, by 2013, the painting did change hands privately for a similar amount.
Rosaline Wong, linked to prominent Hong Kong billionaire Henry Cheng, chairman of New World Development, is reportedly involved in the transaction. Cheng, one of China’s wealthiest individuals, saw a significant drop in New World’s shares and his family’s net worth between January 2023 and January 2024. Wong, a former Hong Kong barrister, has a history of brokering high-profile art deals, including a $150 million Gustav Klimt previously owned by Oprah Winfrey and sold by Gagosian. More recently, she was associated with a Klimt that fetched $108.4 million at Sotheby’s.
Wong’s influence extends beyond individual transactions. Around 2015, she founded HomeArt, an investment advisory company matching buyers with high-value art. In 2022, the South China Morning Post reported that Wong was establishing a $1 billion art investment fund with Hong Kong- and Singapore-based Zheng He Capital, supported by Gagosian and Henry Cheng. This initiative is aimed at broadening investment opportunities in museum-quality artworks.
Homeart has collaborated with Christie’s on several exhibitions, including an 11-work Basquiat show in Hong Kong in May 2021, featuring a 1982 painting purchased for $29 million at Christie’s London in 2013. This Basquiat is also part of Gagosian’s current “Icons” exhibition, according to sources familiar with the show.
Gagosian has declined to comment on the consignors of the Warhol and Basquiat paintings, and Wong did not respond to requests for comment.
Warhol’s four giant “Mao” paintings, requiring the extensive facilities of his Factory’s screening room, were so costly to produce that they needed financial backing from galleries Knoedler & Co., Castelli, and collector Peter Brant. Each party received one of the giant Maos. The painting Christie’s sent to Hong Kong in 2008 originated from Castelli and went through James Mayor to a private European collection. Another giant “Mao” resides at the Art Institute of Chicago, gifted by Knoedler. Brant donated a third to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, while the fourth, initially kept by Warhol, ended up with Charles Saatchi and later in the hands of German collector Erich Marx, who loaned it to the Hamburger Bahnhof museum in Berlin.
Recently, art historian Hubertus Butin speculated in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the Hamburger Bahnhof “Mao” might soon be on the market. Following Marx’s death in 2020, several high-value pieces from his collection have been removed from the museum by his heirs, reportedly consigned to Gagosian. Despite this, the museum and dealers have cast doubt on the speculative $155 million offer for the painting.
As the “Icons” show continues through July 19, whether the Gagosian “Mao” finds a new buyer remains to be seen. This exhibition not only underscores the dynamic nature of the art market but also highlights the complex interplay between Eastern and Western art collectors.
image courtesy : Jens Meyer | Credit: AP
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