It is hard to imagine an art world without Larry Gagosian in it. The mega dealer, who started in the 1970s by selling posters on the street, represents some of the most important artists of our time (Cy Twombly, Helen Frankenthaler, Richard Prince), but has also come to symbolize — and set the tone — for a sexy gallery scene of museum-quality shows, glamorous exhibition openings and high prices.
While privately held, his company’s revenue is widely estimated at about $1 billion. As one collector put it, there are two people in the art world who require only a first name: Larry and Andy (as in Warhol).
But people in the art world have long wondered how Gagosian’s empire will survive without Gagosian himself. Every one of his 19 galleries in seven countries bears the stamp of his shrewd taste in art, his spare, elegant aesthetic. Gagosian is a strong — somewhat opaque and occasionally prickly — personality with clear opinions. A bachelor with no children, he turns 78 in 2023, raising the question of a succession plan.
Now Gagosian finally seems to be forming one. In the last year, he assembled a board of directors to help him think through the future of his business. In addition to seven of his key associates and Gagosian himself, the board features 12 outside members from various industries, all of them collectors. These include Evan Spiegel, the chief executive of Snap; the artist Jenny Saville; the financier J. Tomilson Hill, who is the chairman of the Guggenheim Museum; Glenn Fuhrman, a financier who founded the Flag Art Foundation; and Delphine Arnault, the executive vice president of Louis Vuitton who also serves on the executive committee of its parent company LVMH, run by her father Bernard Arnault, one of the world’s top collectors.
“I don’t know who will take over for me,” Gagosian said in an interview. “It’s tricky to have a legacy business, particularly when there’s no family. But we have an extremely successful business and we would like to see it live beyond me. This seemed like a step in that direction. I’m not contemplating stepping down or slowing down. It creates a model for the gallery to move forward and it also enriches it right now.”
Recently, talk has intensified around what a Gagosian Gallery enterprise will look like post-Gagosian. His peers in the field — David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, Acquavella, Nahmad — are family businesses, with a younger generation who could potentially succeed the founders.
