Marc Jancou Files $26 Million Suit Against Cady Nowland and Sotheby’s
February 20, 2012
New York City art dealer Marc Jancou has filed a lawsuit against both Sotheby’s and the artist Cady Noland, arising from a consignment Jancou made to Sotheby’s of Noland’s Cowboys Milking (1990). One day prior to the sale in which the painting was scheduled to sell, the auction house withdrew it without explanation. This withdrawal proved particularly painful for Jancou, as another of Noland’s paintings–Oozewald (1989)–sold for an unprecedented $6.6 million at Sotheby’s one day before it removed Cowboys Milking. Oozewald was only expected to bring $3 million, but the sale set a new record for work at an auction by a living female painter. Jancou now argues that he is owed $26 million in damages–$6 million from Sotheby’s for breach of contract and $20 million from Noland. Incidentally, Noland’s Cowboys Milking is valued between $250-350,ooo.
