More on Art Advisers, this time from the horse's mouth

Howdy!

About a month ago, I wrote a snarky remark about Sharon Burton, the founder of Authentic Art Consulting in Washington, D.C. aft she gave good quote to Artinfo.com in an article about Art Advisors. Well, now we get the big guns...

Mia Fineman, senior research associate in the Department of Photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote an article in today's New York Times about Art Advisors, but from the inside. While I'm still not happy with the concept that buying contemporary art is 'a closed system based largely on relationships of trust.' I much prefer an article about it that has quotes from David Zwirner, Marianne Boesky, Barbara Gladstone, and Tobias Meyer's boyfriend, than one that has quotes from one that highlights the names of the 'advisors' so that you are certain not to miss their names.

Best quote from Ms. Fineman:

Dealers are particularly wary of advisers who demand a commission from the gallery without making the buyer aware of the transaction. The worst, Ms. Boesky said, are “the Long Island ladies who come into the gallery with a group of girlfriends, and then call in from the street and say, ‘If my friends buy anything, make sure you give me a commission.’ ”

Thanks fully none of the advisors quoted in the Artinfo.com article have offices in Long Island.