Kenny Schachter, an artist, collector, and art world commentator, writes for Artnet that Larry Gagosian has no succession plan for his mega-gallery, claiming that after Gagosian's death the business will not survive. This contradicts earlier reports that Gagosian had assembled a board of directors—including Evan Spiegel, Jenny Saville, J. Tomilson Hill, Glenn Fuhrman, and Delphine Arnault—to plan for the future. Separately, new research suggests Rembrandt's *The Night Watch* (1642) may include imagery borrowed from a lesser-known Dutch artist, with a barking dog in the painting closely resembling an illustration from a 17th-century manual on resisting sexual temptation. The UK art market is also facing increased anti-money laundering enforcement, with HMRC issuing significant fines, including a £158,679 penalty to London-based DYS44 Art Gallery Limited for procedural failures.
These stories matter because they touch on fundamental issues of institutional stability, artistic originality, and regulatory accountability in the art world. The question of succession at Gagosian—one of the most powerful galleries globally—raises concerns about the future of major art businesses and the concentration of influence. The Rembrandt finding challenges traditional notions of artistic genius and originality, while the HMRC crackdown signals a shift toward stricter financial oversight in the art market, affecting dealers, galleries, and collectors operating in the UK.