Daniel Wildenstein was a titan in the art collecting world for decades before his death in 2001. However, since his death, a series of court cases, including one against the estate by the French government over death taxes, have revealed the byzantine workings of the art world. In this case, the family claimed an estate valued at about $61 million but accusations arose saying that the real value of the estate was worth ten times or more that amount when trust and hidden assets were taken into account. For example, one noteworthy piece by Caravaggio was on display at the Met Museum in New York, but without attribution to its true owner, which effectively allowed the asset to remain hidden. In addition, several warehouses throughout the world contain works that are unknown to anyone outside the family, if even they know for sure, which provides an efficient means of hiding potential treasures from the government tax collector and others with a claim against the estate. While arrangements such as these are not likely to shock those in the know in the high end art market, it has given a public glimpse of the workings of those engaged in the shadowy world of art collecting.
See Doreen Carvajal & Graham Bowley, Wildenstein Trial to Lift a Veil on Opaque Art World Dealings, The New York Times, December 21, 2015.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
