Those Shadowy Auction Winners

“One of the great contradictions of the art market is that it simultaneously has a thirst for publicity and an obsession with secrecy… Once a work of art has been sold, a veil begins to descend. Auction houses often trumpet big prices, yet they rarely reveal details about buyers. Meanwhile, dealers at fairs often refuse to confirm that a sale has taken place, let alone identify their clients. Artworks suddenly move out of sight into the discreet world of anonymous collectors, sometimes vanishing for generations.” So a new book devoted entirely to some of the world’s more reclusive collectors is bound to make a big splash.