«IT'S CALLED GOSSIP AND OF COURSE IT'S AN OBSESSION OF MINE»

DURING the Oscars weekend last February, art dealer Larry Gagosian held a private lunch at the $US15.5 million ($14.4m) home he recently bought in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. His glass-enclosed house had been decorated for the occasion by artist Richard Prince, and its walls were lined with his portraits of beach beauties and pulp-novel nurses.
As guests including financier Ron Perelman and actress Renee Zellweger navigated the home's skylit hallways, Gagosian and his staff mingled with guests, discreetly passing a rolled-up sheet of paper between them like a baton. The sheet listed prices for nearly every artwork in sight.With an unrelenting focus on selling, Gagosian, 65, has become the most powerful art dealer in the world. He represents the estates and careers of 77 of the world's top artists, including Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly, Richard Serra, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Ed Ruscha.

-theaustralian.com