Melanie Gerlis
@mgerlis
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Columnist, Financial Times; Editor at large, The Art Newspaper; author of 'Art as an Investment?' and 'The Art Fair Story'; mother of three; wife of one
London
Joined January 2011
My first books essay for @ftweekend - The bigger picture: lifting the veil on the art market (£)
ft.com
From shady deals to outright fraud, a series of high-profile scandals have rocked the art world. What’s the solution?
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🎯 The art market enters its ‘safety first’ era. The last fortnight of fairs and auctions prove collectors are willing to spend — but paintings of fairytale forests and old-school photography suggest experimentalism is out. By @mgerlis #PayWall
https://t.co/RYBhjzF1UD via @ft
ft.com
The last fortnight of fairs and auctions prove collectors are willing to spend — but paintings of fairytale forests and old-school photography suggest experimentalism is out
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Thorough by @mgerlis-What is an ‘emerging artist’ anyway? The art market is turning its taste towards up-and-comers — but will more conservative collectors at @ArtBasel Paris be persuaded? #FreeToRead
https://t.co/nFzduTB9Xs via @ft
ft.com
Market taste is turning towards up-and-comers — but will more conservative collectors at Art Basel Paris be persuaded?
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👏👏 London’s influential Courtauld Institute and Gallery today reveals a £30mn donation from the Reuben Foundation, the charitable arm of the family of billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben. By @mgerlis #PayWall
https://t.co/ka8s3hiWYS via @ft
ft.com
Gift from the billionaire Reuben brothers’ family foundation will be ‘transformative’ for the London arts institute and gallery
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Is a bad economy good for art? Some curators and gallerists believe that a downturn opens space for creativity. By @mgerlis #PayWall
https://t.co/QqnfsJvd0C via @ft
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Fancy Marilyn Monroe’s candlesticks? The tale of Manny Davidson’s collection — and a Shakespearean family feud. The billionaire property developer filled his homes with 500 artworks and collectibles — now valued at more than €15mn. By @mgerlis #PayWall
ft.com
The billionaire property developer filled his homes with 500 artworks and collectibles — now valued at more than €15mn
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Why art dealers are up in arms at the EU’s new anti-terror legislation. Cultural property laws that come into force this week have been condemned as ‘stupid’ and ‘absurd’. By @mgerlis #PayWall
https://t.co/nktoqlEL1H via @ft
ft.com
Cultural property laws that come into force this week have been condemned as ‘stupid’ and ‘absurd’
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Sex, love or money? What art collecting is really abt. When it comes to her adult thirst for contemporary art, Sandretto Re Rebaudengo talks abt using it “to understand the world better, to talk a bit less&to listen to what artists have to say” By @mgerlis
ft.com
For today’s top buyers, passion rather than profit appears to be the primary motive
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Going, going, gone - I look at the shifting sands of the art market for today’s @thetimes https://t.co/3bNEQtRrA0
thetimes.com
The latest breaking UK, US, world, business and sport news from The Times and The Sunday Times. Go beyond today's headlines with in-depth analysis and comment.
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How indigenous art became in demand. Works from previously overlooked communities are gaining in prominence, raising questions of cultural respect and financial fair share. By @mgerlis #PayWall
https://t.co/WiYjSk5SlW via @ft
ft.com
Works from previously overlooked communities are gaining in prominence, raising questions of cultural respect and financial fair share
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‘Getting rich quick is out of the question’: what does it take to open a gallery in London these days? The city’s newest dealers — taking part in London Gallery Weekend’s fifth edition — are playing the long game amid economic turmoil. By @mgerlis #PayWall
ft.com
The city’s newest dealers — taking part in London Gallery Weekend’s fifth edition — are playing the long game amid economic turmoil
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🤩🤩 Don’t miss it if u can-The art world’s next big thing? A shopping centre in Croydon. For pioneering gallerist Gavin Brown, a downtrodden retail complex in south London is the perfect spot for a summer show of video works. By @mgerlis
https://t.co/H3KKmcl6uR via @ft
ft.com
For pioneering gallerist Gavin Brown, a downtrodden retail complex in south London is the perfect spot for a summer show of video works
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Exclusive: Epiris, the private equity backer of auction house Bonhams and pub group Amber Taverns, is preparing to bid for a portfolio of Sea Life-branded aquariums put up for sale by Merlin Entertainments, the world's biggest theme park operator.
news.sky.com
The private equity backer of Bonhams and Amber Taverns is among the suitors preparing offers for a portfolio of Merlin Entertainments' Sea Life-branded aquariums, Sky News learns.
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Art Basel launches new art fair in Qatar via @FT
ft.com
The fair will run in February 2026 and cements the Middle East as the next frontier in the global art market
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"Do cremated ashes classify as human remains? Should there be international trade in religious relics? What, in the words of the fictive archaeologist Indiana Jones, 'belongs in a museum'?" And don't get me started on tabots. https://t.co/0fe4GtyNI0 via @ft @mgerlis
ft.com
Sotheby’s has postponed its sale of gems linked to the remains of the Buddha, in a case that has sparked legal and moral debates
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Incredible 🤪-A mysterious $100mn trove of rare coins — hidden from the Nazis — to be auctioned. Amassed by an obsessive connoisseur dubbed ‘The Traveller’, it is the most valuable collection of its kind to be sold at auction. By @mgerlis #PayWall
https://t.co/kxX77XIa8T via @ft
ft.com
Amassed by an obsessive connoisseur dubbed ‘The Traveller’, it is the most valuable collection of its kind to be sold at auction
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JR is a street art sensation — but his market value remains an enigma. The self-styled ‘photograffeur’ orchestrates public spectacles and is big on social media — so why are his sales relatively low-key?By @mgerlis #PayWall
https://t.co/U6v0LTb2Tr via @ft
ft.com
The self-styled ‘photograffeur’ orchestrates public spectacles and is big on social media — so why are his sales relatively low-key?
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👍 wrap-up by @mgerlis-The recipe for art auction success? Surrealism — and Instagram-friendly painting. Despite turbulent times, the repeated mantra through the London salesrooms was that ‘good things will still sell’ #PayWall
https://t.co/kUCRguc8qa via @ft
ft.com
Despite turbulent times, the repeated mantra through the London salesrooms was that ‘good things will still sell’
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Art buyers love forgotten creators — but not everything is worth rediscovering. Collectors are enchanted by the ignored and overlooked — but is this trend stealing valuable attention away from younger artists? By @mgerlis #PayWall
https://t.co/16Sn72jzPa via @ft
ft.com
Collectors are enchanted by the ignored and overlooked — but is this trend stealing valuable attention away from younger artists?
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Los Angeles’ art world steps into a dangerous new age of climate risk. Amid the devastation of the LA wildfires, cultural institutions are assessing a near future of increasingly extreme conditions. By @mgerlis #FriezeLA #PayWall
https://t.co/wKtq0Wo2ib via @ft
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