In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Phillips, one of the world’s top auction houses, claimed that a billionaire’s son failed to pay $14.5 million for a Jackson Pollock painting that sold in New York this past November.
The lawsuit, filed in the Supreme Court of New York, alleges that David Mimran, a film producer and the son of French businessman Jean Claude Mimran, had agreed to pay that sum as a third-party guarantee. Third-party guarantees, which have become common in major sales, especially since the onset of the pandemic, help auction houses defray the risk of offering art by bringing in an outside backer who agrees to buy a work, even if bidding does not break a certain barrier.
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Documents submitted alongside the lawsuit, which was first reported by the New York Post over the weekend, suggest that the Pollock painting did not reach that amount when it came to sale. Per a third-party guarantee agreement submitted by Phillips, Mimran would have to pay just half of the $14.5 million if the work’s hammer price—an amount that does not account for additional fees—exceeded $14.2 million.
The Pollock piece, an early drip painting, was the Phillips sale’s top lot. Painted ca. 1948, it sold for $15.3 million with fees.
According to Phillips, Mimran sought an extension on his payment. “Mimran admitted that he owed the money, but he cried poverty and asked for more time,” the lawsuit reads. Then, he allegedly claimed he could not pay under that new deadline. The auction house is now seeking just under $15 million from Mimran—a figure that accounts for a 10 percent interest.
Mimran told Artnet News, “I love the painting and will buy it just a little late which happens often in this market and most auction houses had to deal with this.”
Mimran’s lawyer declined to comment to ARTnews and referred ARTnews to Mimran’s comments to Artnet.
He is the producer of films such as Warrior (2011), an acclaimed drama starring Tom Hardy as a boxer. He also formerly held a high-ranking position in Endeavor Mining, which has mines in Senegal.
“It’s astonishing that Mimran believes he can bid like a billionaire and then hide behind the claim that he’s broke,” Luke Nikas, a lawyer representing Phillips, said in an email to ARTnews. “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.”