An American investment tycoon is suing a Mayfair fine art dealer over claims that it deliberately omitted provenance information as part of a €5 million paintings sale. Gary Klesch, 72, founder of the Klesch Group, an industrials and commodities company, has alleged that he and his wife agreed to buy two old master paintings from Richard Green (Fine Paintings) of Mayfair last March before becoming aware a few months later that they had been bought at substantially lower prices the year before. The allegations are made in a High Court claim filed by the Klesch Collection Limited, the Jersey-registered company through which he and his wife, Anita Klesch, an associate research fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, purchase fine art. Mr Klesch, whose UK investments… Want to read more? Subscribe now and get unlimited digital access on web and our smartphone and tablet apps, free for your first month.
The Klesch Collection has filed a High Court lawsuit against Richard Green (Fine Paintings) of Mayfair, accusing the dealer of failing to disclose provenance information on two paintings. American art buyer Gary Klesch and his wife Anita Klesch bought two paintings from Green for $3.4m (€3m) and €2m each, but later discovered they sold at auction for €1.5m and €882,500 in 2017. Klesch is seeking either damages or for the sale to be cancelled. Law firm Schillings, acting on behalf of Green, said the claim has no merit.