Latest news with #DavidMimran


New York Times
4 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
After Not Paying for $14.5 Million Pollock, an Art Collector Is Sued
In a rare dispute that divulges how some artworks worth extraordinary sums of money are sold, an auction house has sued the scion of a sugar fortune after he failed to pay the $14.5 million he had promised for a Jackson Pollock white-on-black drip painting. Nobody bid on the Pollock during the live auction in November. But in an increasingly common practice, Phillips Auctioneers had previously received a financial commitment from the scion, David Mimran, as a third-party guarantor. Those agreements help auction houses lure expensive artwork by guaranteeing a sale and act as a kind of insurance policy for the seller. Third-party guarantors agree to buy a painting or sculpture at a set minimum price if it does not sell for more at auction. If the sale goes above that price, the guarantor typically receives a percentage of the upside. That exact percentage is tailored to the agreement, which is usually confidential. 'It's becoming a tactic that a lot of art collectors are using essentially to make some quick money,' said Mari-Claudia Jiménez, a partner and founder of Withers Art and Advisory. 'If they guarantee something that they suspect is going to do very well, they can profit quite handsomely.' A lawyer for Mr. Mimran, a film producer and the son of the sugar baron Jean-Claude Mimran, declined to comment. Luke Nikas, a lawyer representing Phillips, said in a statement, 'If Mimran didn't have a dollar to his name to pay for the artwork, as he claims, then he shouldn't have raised a paddle.' The untitled Pollock, which was created circa 1948 and displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in a 1998 retrospective, uses oil, enamel, pebbles and cutouts on paper mounted on Masonite. In its auction catalog, Phillips describes the 31-by-23-inch painting as 'an optically dazzling composition, punctuated by cutout shapes, and emerging from an explosive period of creativity and newfound sobriety.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.


New York Post
12-07-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Billionaire's son ignored $15M promise to buy Jackson Pollock painting: lawsuit
A sugar billionaire's son agreed to buy a $15 million Jackson Pollock painting — but has yet to fork over a dime for it, court records show. David Mimran, whose father Jean Claude is worth an estimated $2 billion thanks to business ventures in West Africa and Switzerland, agreed to purchase the untitled, 1948 abstract impressionist artwork if it didn't find a buyer at a November auction, Phillips Auctioneers said in a lawsuit. When the oil painting didn't sell, Mimran, 56, was obligated to purchase it — but blew off two payment deadlines, including one in March and another in June. Mimran agreed to shell out nearly $15 million for the Jackson Pollock painting — then blew off two deadlines to pay up, the auction house claimed. Getty Images 'David Mimran, the son of a billionaire businessman, uses his perceived wealth to convince business partners to transact with him. But then he fails to keep his promises,' Phillips said in legal papers against the London resident. Lawyers for Mimran acknowledged he wouldn't be paying by the June 30 deadline. 'He is unable to complete the purchase of the painting on Monday,' Mimran's attorneys wrote in a June 25 email to Phillips Auctioneers which was included in court papers. 'Nor is he able to make a substantial down payment. The untitled work by the famed painter was put up for auction in November. Phillips 'David has requested an additional 60 days to pay because he says that substantial assets of his in Western Africa are finally in the process of becoming accessible,' they added. It's not the first time Mimran, whose father sold a luxury Swiss resort he co-owned for $250 million earlier this year, has left behind a hefty debt. Jean-Claude Mimran's company, The Mimran Group, operated several agricultural businesses in West Africa before selling at least some of the entities in 2018, according to a report. The former Manhattan resident and filmmaker, David Mimran left the Big Apple in 2013 having failed to pay a more than $7 million divorce settlement to his first wife. He is now married to model Julie Ordon. 'It's astonishing that Mimran believes he can bid like a billionaire and then hide behind the claim that he's broke. If Mimran didn't have a dollar to his name to pay for the artwork, as he claims, then he shouldn't have raised a paddle,' said Phillips Auctioneer attorney Luke Nikas of the firm Quinn Emanuel. Lawyers for Mimran did not respond to a message seeking comment.