Lévy Gorvy Dayan is launching LGD Hammer, a new live-bidding platform that blends private sales with auction dynamics. The inaugural sale on May 16 will feature a 1984 Willem de Kooning painting estimated at $10–15 million, led by co-founder Brett Gorvy, a former auction veteran. The article also reports on gallery closures (Stephen Friedman Gallery, Galerie Philipp Zollinger, Astor Gallery), artist moves (Zoe Leonard to Maxwell Graham, Kehinde Wiley among creditors), and Sotheby’s upcoming single-owner sale of Joe Lewis’s collection expected to exceed $200 million.
This matters because LGD Hammer represents a significant shift in how galleries can compete with auction houses, potentially reshaping the secondary market. The wave of gallery closures and financial losses for artists underscores the fragile economics of the gallery system, while the appointment of an economist-in-residence at Whitechapel Gallery signals a broader rethinking of museums' social and financial roles.