Pace CEO Glimcher Counters Loss Reports, Former High Museum COO Sentenced, Italy Mulls Nazi‑Era Restitution Bill
Marc Glimcher defends Pace’s financial outlook while a former museum executive faces prison and Italy debates a new restitution framework.
Glimcher’s Response to Reported Losses
Marc Glimcher, chief executive of Pace, spoke to ARTnews after the gallery’s Companies House filings revealed “significant losses in turnover” for 2024 and 2025. Glimcher described the situation as “everything is turning,” pointing to a “record” Art Basel Paris last month and “sellout shows” that he believes are putting the business “back in the black.” He added that a new European location is slated to open “fairly soon,” and that a forthcoming London space will “make a lot of sense to everybody” once announced.
Explaining the accounting figures, Glimcher said the gallery performed a “balance sheet shift,” reallocating investments and cash flows across units, which “appears to be a loss because we’re changing around the way we invest money and take money from other units.” He also noted that the 50 artists dropped in June were “not artists that we had a super active engagement with,” and that the decision “wasn’t benefiting them or us.”
High Museum COO Sentenced for Embezzlement
Brady Lum, who served as chief operating officer of Atlanta’s High Museum of Art from January 2, 2019, to December 9, 2025, was sentenced by a federal court to one year in prison followed by one year of supervised release. The conviction stems from a scheme in which Lum tampered with invoices and approved personal purchases, siphoning $607,688 from the museum to fund “high‑end guitars and other personal items,” according to U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.
Lum has repaid the full stolen amount and an additional $500,000 to cover the museum’s investigative costs. Hertzberg called the crime an appalling breach of trust that harmed both the High Museum and the broader art community.
Italy Considers New Restitution Committee
Lawmakers in Italy are examining a bill that would establish a committee tasked with researching provenance and facilitating the restitution of art and cultural objects looted by Nazis and Italian police between 1933 and 1945. The proposal, reported by The Art Newspaper, aims to create a formal mechanism for returning such works to their rightful owners.
Other Art‑World Updates
A New South Wales city council declined to exhibit Phil Buehler’s “Wall of Tears” installation, citing safety concerns.
Jeff Koons, in a limited‑edition collaboration interview with Hublot, said he never think[s] about price and focuses on the “value that things have for humanity.”
The Kennedy Center Honors will proceed despite turmoil at the venue, honoring Paul Anka, David Mamet, Andy Garcia and Barbara Mandrell.
An unknown drawing by Duncan Grant of Vanessa Bell was uncovered during research for Tate Britain’s upcoming show.
A “WANTED” campaign by the Musée des Beaux‑Arts d’Orléans led to the discovery of Willem Cornelisz Duyster’s painting Le Buveur at a Swiss auction house; the work is expected to be returned to the museum.
These developments illustrate a week of financial recalibrations, legal repercussions, and policy initiatives shaping the global art market.
