Mary Boone’s Business Partner Is Suing the Jailed Dealer Over $15 Million in Art That She Allegedly Took From the Gallery for Herself

The legal woes continue for imprisoned art dealer Mary Boone. A
gallery partner and former employee, James Oliver, has filed a
lawsuit against Boone seeking $44,325 in unpaid wages and to
protect his 10 percent equity share in the gallery, accusing the
dealer of transferring millions in gallery funds to her personal
bank account.

In 2019, Boone pleaded guilty to
filing false tax returns. She was subsequently sentenced to 30 months in
jail, despite appeals for
leniency from many prominent members
of the art world. As a result, Boone closed the
gallery she had run since 1977.

Oliver, who first began working for Boone in 1995, was among
those who spoke up in Boone’s defense. He praised his boss, noting
that Boone had “successfully trained dozens of aspiring gallerists
who have gone on to very successful careers as gallery owners
themselves or directors of other major galleries. Along the way she
has given endless hours of her time instilling the positive
attitude and the exacting work ethic that her employees have needed
to succeed in a very difficult business.”

But their relationship has soured since Oliver resigned in March
2019. “Mr. Oliver attempted on numerous occasions to amicably
resolve this dispute before filing a complaint,” wrote his
attorney, Brett Gallaway, in an email to Artnet News.

Gallaway’s firm, McLaughlin & Stern, filed suit last month
against the gallery and Boone Associates, the limited partnership
that owns the gallery. Oliver, who was promoted to director in
2003, has been a limited partner since 2015. According to the suit,
Boone currently has a 70 percent share in the gallery, with 5
percent allotted to her friend and longtime investor Sheila Meyer
Zalower and to Boone’s son, Max Werner, each. Gallery co-director
Ronald Warren and Oliver were each allotted 10 percent.

“We believe Ms. Boone… improperly commingled gallery art and
assets with her own personal property, which she still possesses,
and therefore, do not view the closure of the gallery as a bar to
collect the 10 percent distribution to which Mr. Oliver is
rightfully owed,” wrote Oliver’s attorney.

Oliver—who had an annual salary of $300,000—was allegedly paid
$9,000 for the more than two months he worked in 2019. Boone’s
lawyer for her tax case, Michael Sardar, did not respond to
inquiries from Artnet News. It is unclear who will be representing
the dealer moving forward.

The complaint details a list of 19 works belonging to the
gallery by blue-chip artists including KAWS, Barbara Kruger, Sherry
Levine, and Eric Fischl. Allegedly, three of those works have been
sold, including a $10 million Brice Marden painting purchased by
Gagosian Gallery. The other 16, worth a collective $5 million, are
believed to be at Boone’s apartment.

Boone stands accused of having the funds from those sales wired
directly to her personal account, just one week before she paid off
her $3 million in unpaid back taxes.

When Oliver confronted her about the misappropriated money,
demanding his 10 percent share in the profits, “Boone flippantly
responded that ‘it’s mine and I am going to need it when I get out
of prison,’” according to the complaint. She also allegedly told
him that “the gallery is worth nothing.”

The suit also expresses concerns about whether the 16 works are
currently insured, and calls for the formation of a trust to
oversee the artworks that still belong to the gallery. An initial
conference in the case has been scheduled for April.

The post Mary Boone’s Business Partner Is Suing the Jailed
Dealer Over $15 Million in Art That She Allegedly Took From the
Gallery for Herself appeared first on artnet News.