Saturday, January 16, 2016

"a phenomenon known as 'gazumping.'"

NYT:
Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz al-Thani of Qatar thought he’d bought a Picasso masterpiece in November 2014. That was when he agreed, through his agents, to pay $42 million for the spectacular “Bust of a Woman (Marie-Thérèse).” The seller was Picasso’s daughter Maya Widmaier-Picasso, who was parting with a much-loved object.

But the sheikh never got his Picasso. After he had made the first two of three payments, his agents received a letter canceling the sale and refunding the money.