Larry Gagosian has long cultivated an air of mystery, the Times tells us in a lengthy and fascinating profile of the art dealer yesterday. He doesn’t do interviews and keeps details of his operations totally secret. Now 63, Gagosian, who was married once for 16 days and doesn’t have any children, spends his time at the homes of similarly mysterious hedge-fund managers, Russian oligarchs, and assorted other billionaires; at auctions; or fêting celebrities and other art-world patrons at the various international branches of his galleries. He is constantly the subject of incredible, awesome rumors. “I’ve heard every one in the book,” one fellow dealer told the Times yesterday. “‘The Feds are there. He owes $200 million. He’s going to be shut down. He’s going to be shot by Russian mobsters.’” Also noted: His silver helmet of hair is always impeccably groomed! His face has barely changed shape in years! He only wears Hermès! He has a lap pool in his New York apartment! No one knows how he does anything!
By the time we got to the end of the story, we were nearly convinced he was actually supernatural in some way, like Al Pacino in The Devil’s Advocate, and it was going to end with a sighting someone had of him sprouting horns and flying into the sun.
But instead it ended with an interview of his ex-girlfriend.
Only rarely, during their three years of dating, did she catch a glimpse of the person underneath the deal maker.
“Even with the people closest to him, like a lover, there’s always a barrier, a facade, which is not ever really down,” says Ms. Ramirez, who is still in touch with Mr. Gagosian, “because he has no time to indulge in the things that happen to most human beings, like falling in love, marriage. Those are not his priorities.”
Meh. After all that, he’s just like every other guy in New York.
