Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Art Money, which offers loans for works less than $1mn, has paused its business operations in the midst of a “perfect storm”, says founder and chief executive Paul Becker. In a public post on June 7, he listed these as an “art market contraction”, meaning investors are warier; a general lack of growth capital; and high interest rates “compressing margins” in the short term.Art Money, which started in 2016, has partnered with more than 2,000 galleries and 40 auction houses but is “not currently taking new applications for credit or financing new purchases”, according to its website.Becker says that he has raised $10mn equity from more than 135 investors, including a recently announced investment from the venture capital arm of Christie’s, whose contribution is believed to be less than $500,000. In April, the auction house joined with Art Money for a prints and multiples auction, which was up 45 per cent on the equivalent sale last year (Becker acknowledges this might not be to do with Art Money).He says the business needs an additional $5mn to be profitable by the end of 2025. In the meantime, he says, “all galleries, artists and art sellers have been paid, or will be shortly.” Ideally, Art Money needs “a coalition of the willing” within the art world to recapitalise it for the next stage. Christie’s says: “We remain committed to supporting the company and its CEO and founder through this period.”Deteriorating art-market conditions are also to blame for the cancellation of this year’s second edition of Photofairs New York, which had been due to run in the Javits Center on September 6-8. Scott Gray, founder and chief executive of Creo, the company behind Photofairs, says that the “whole environment” in New York, including the long run-up to the presidential election, means it is currently “not the right place to build appetite for a serious medium that needs a dynamic local scene”. He is not committing to bringing the fair back next year. “We’ll see, if things change,” he says. Helen Toomer, who was appointed to run the New York fair, has left the business.Creo is, however, launching Photofairs in Hong Kong, due to run on the Central Harbourfront on March 27-30, coinciding with the Art Basel fair in town. “That week in Hong Kong is such a moment in the Asia-Pacific, where there is a bigger market now for photography,” Gray says. Photofairs launched in Shanghai in 2014.Tributes are pouring in for influential New York gallerist Barbara Gladstone, who died in Paris on June 16, aged 89, after a brief illness. Artists whom Gladstone had brought to market attention since opening in 1980 include Matthew Barney and Carrie Mae Weems, while in 2020 she broke art-market barriers by hiring competitor Gavin Brown. In an interview for The Art World: What If . . . ?! podcast this year, a thoughtful Gladstone spoke of the value of individual relationships with artists, “something that exists far less now”. She said too that, were it possible, she would “ban the internet”.London gallerist Sadie Coles, says: “I was lucky that Barbara took me under her immense wing and mentored me for 30 years . . . She will remain my reference point for integrity, fairness and rigour, and as a marker for resisting the mega-gallery model.” She adds that Gladstone “remains a key inspiration to women in the art world . . . I will continue to think, ‘What would Barbara do?’”Jeffrey Yin, a tech and financial services professional, will become chief executive of the online marketplace Artsy on July 1. Current chief executive Mike Steib steps down to lead the US broadcaster Tegna. Yin, promoted from his role as Artsy’s chief financial officer and general counsel since 2019, takes the helm at a moment he calls “crucial” for the art market. “There is economic malaise around the world and art is a luxury, discretionary product. We have to bring all we have to help collectors find what they love,” he says. For Pride month, Artsy has worked with eight curators to highlight works for sale by 70 artists with ties to the LGBTQ+ community.Last week also marked the abrupt departure of Andrew Fabricant, chief operating officer of Gagosian since 2019, together with his wife, Laura Paulson, who headed up the gallery’s advisory business. No one is commenting on the reasons why, although it seems a straightforward clash of personalities with founder Larry Gagosian. The gallery confirms that its advisory arm will continue under Bernie Lagrange, son of the hedge fund manager Pierre Lagrange, who joined in 2020.Find out about our latest stories first — follow FT Weekend on Instagram and X, and subscribe to our podcast Life & Art wherever you listen
