The Top 50 ART Collectors

The New York Observer just published the Top 50 Art Collectors. These are the people that you really want to buy and collect your artwork. In my case, will like to either have their deep pockets and their artwork!

By Alexandra Peers
January 26, 2011 | 2:44 p.m


If New York is the center of the art world—and it is—these are the buyers and collectors who run it. With input from top dealers, auction house officials and museum curators, The Observer has identified the 50 people in (and around) the city with the power to move the market.

Which isn't to say they necessarily own the biggest collections, though many of them do. We made our picks based on influence, taste and how active they are on the scene—and behind it.

No surprise, most of the collectors come from finance and real estate, and tend to back up their personal holdings with positions on museum boards. But some of the people on this list may surprise you, as will where they've chosen to put their money.

1. Steven Cohen, Hedge Fund Manager

The Connecticut billionaire, recently subpoenaed in a federal probe of hedge funds, has, in roughly a dozen years, cobbled together one of the world’s great art collections. (A one-man cold war, he’s often the only factor at auctions preventing Russian collectors from winning and then exporting major artworks.) Buying through Larry Gagosian, David Zwirner and Bill Acquavella, he owns Warhols, de Koonings and Picassos. His Damien Hirst shark was on longtime loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he serves on various committees. Years ago, he owned a small stake in Sotheby’s, which once turned over its top floor to highlights from his collection.

See the rest of the lucky ones here:

http://www.observer.com/2011/culture/slideshow/art