Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/Pixabay
Art adviser Lisa Schiff has made a career cutting deals for the rich and famous. Her client list has included Leonardo DiCaprio, and Young Paris once serenaded her at Art Basel. She’s been quoted and featured with regularity in the media, including The New York Times, Architectural Digest, and CNN.
But now some ugly accusations about how she finances her high-flying lifestyle threaten to shatter her image.
Two clients who were once her very close friends filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court on Thursday, claiming that Schiff has been “running a Ponzi scheme.” The real-estate heiress Candace Barasch and Richard Grossman alleged that the Tribeca art buyer failed to pay them $1.8 million from the sale of a contemporary painting.
According to the complaint, around New Year’s, Schiff brokered the sale of Adrian Ghenie’s The Uncle 3 at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong for $2.5 million. But, they say, they still haven’t received the bulk of the money. Their complaint outlined five allegations of financial misconduct, including fraud, conspiracy, and breach of contract.
Grossman’s spouse and Barasch have known Schiff for nearly two decades, the suit said, and developed quasi-familial bonds. The Grossmans say they went to the bris of Schiff’s son and attended Father’s Day events at his school as “adjunct parents”; the two families even took trips together.
Likewise, Barasch also traveled with Schiff. It was during these trips that she witnessed Schiff’s “lavish lifestyle” up close, the lawsuit claims. “Barasch regularly observed Schiff spending tens of thousands of dollars at a time on couture clothing and accessories, and making jewelry purchases of $20,000 at a time,” the complaint says. It further accused Schiff and her companies of using money obtained from clients to pay for limo rides, five-star trips, and “shopping sprees in New York and London.”
Schiff pays roughly $25,000 per month for her apartment in New York, the plaintiffs claimed, and tens of thousands of dollars for multiple offices. She also “rents a luxury apartment in the legendary Colonial House Apartment complex in West Hollywood—where Bette Davis once lived,” they said.
Schiff did not answer phone calls from The Daily Beast or respond to two text messages; it is not clear if she has an attorney. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Wendy Lindstrom, said in a statement, “It is disheartening that someone who professed transparency and integrity was at the same time stealing from her own clients.”
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs jointly acquired The Uncle 3 in the first half of April 2021. The next year they decided to put the oil painting up for auction. Schiff was supposed to take a 10 percent cut; half of the remaining balance was supposed to go to Barasch, while Grossman and his spouse were supposed to receive a quarter of the proceeds apiece.
Following the sale, Schiff promptly took her commission, the lawsuit stated, and transferred $450,000 in total to the plaintiffs. She allegedly promised to pony up the other $1.8 million by March 26. Schiff then asked for a month-long extension, followed by an additional request to delay payment, the plaintiffs said.
The filing claimed that Richard Grossman needed his cut of the sale of the Ghenie painting to help transfer his hospitalized in-laws to an assisted-living facility.
On May 8, Grossman’s spouse confronted Schiff in person and received an unwelcome surprise: “Schiff told him she did not have the money owed to Plaintiffs, and to call her attorney—and then walked away from him,” the lawsuit alleged.
Grossman’s spouse tried to relay the news to Barasch but accidentally texted Schiff instead. According to Thursday’s filing, Schiff replied, in part, “I am sorry and have every intention to make things right… It’s just complicated… I know you will never speak to me again but I will try to make it right regardless.”
The plaintiffs said they are doubly outraged given Schiff’s former statements to the press. The art market is “such a complex world, and very opaque,” she told The Financial Times in 2017. “When people come in, they often leave quickly because they feel threatened, make mistakes, or they’re taken advantage of. So I’m trying to help people understand.”
Schiff and her companies, the lawsuit noted, sometimes purchased art on their own and then sold the pieces to clients. Last year, a New York Times reporter asked Schiff about another element of complexity in her business, saying “You’re an art adviser, but you also sell art that your clients own. Isn’t that a conflict of interest?” Schiff replied that she treats those two services “as very different businesses…I can’t offer my clients’ things to my other clients, because then I’m representing both sides. You have to be transparent.”.
In 2019, in another article in the Times, Barasch discussed her extensive collaborations with Schiff. At the time, they had amassed a collection of “some 600 pieces,” the story said, and they went to great pains each year to modify the way the art was displayed in Barasch’s apartment.
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
