Another recent dispute seems to reveal that auction houses themselves do not always know whose art they are selling. But the real owner was a trust controlled by Dmitry E. Rybolovlev, a Russian billionaire who had been using Mr. Bouvier as his art adviser. “Do auction houses know who the principal is?” asked Amelia K. Brankov, a lawyer who specializes in the art market. In 2012, a New York appeals court ruled that auction houses did have to let buyers know the identity of sellers. Many in the art world believe that eliminating anonymity would damage the market and invade privacy.

Source: New York Times February 19, 2017 22:18 UTC