Prominent businessman Ronald O. Perelman sold 71 pieces of art by renowned blue-chip artists for a total of $963 million between 2020 and 2022, as detailed in recently revealed court documents.
The collection featured multiple works by esteemed artists such as Cy Twombly, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, Alberto Giacometti, Roy Lichtenstein, Pablo Picasso, Ellsworth Kelly, Brice Marden, Jasper Johns, Egon Schiele, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Anish Kapoor, Mark Rothko, Francis Bacon, and Jackson Pollock. These sales, facilitated through Sotheby's auctions and private transactions, occurred after a significant drop in the value of Revlon Inc. shares. Perelman's holding company had purchased Revlon for $1.74 billion in 1985, but the Covid-19 pandemic severely impacted global stock markets, reducing the shares' value. Perelman had been using the shares as collateral for loans.
Ronald Perelman, credit: David Shankbone via Wikipedia
Although there had been prior reports of Perelman selling "a large portion of his extensive 1,000-item art collection," the recent court filings in an ongoing four-year insurance case provide the first detailed public account of all the works sold, according to Bloomberg Law, which initially reported the story.
Deutsche Bank issued a margin call, demanding additional capital in a brokerage account, which led Perelman to sell the 71 artworks and other assets. The bank also provided loans secured by the billionaire’s art collection.
At least two pieces from Perelman's collection were acquired by another top 200 collector, Ken Griffin. The founder of Citadel and long-time trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago, Griffin purchased Brice Marden’s "Letter About Rocks #2" and "River 4" for $30 million and $9.5 million, respectively, after visiting Perelman’s Hamptons home in 2020.
Jean Dubreil