Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Beleaguered Art Dealer Denies Financial Trouble
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 29, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 29, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Lawrence Salander, whose East 71st Street townhouse gallery Salander O'Reilly has been padlocked by order of a judge amidst numerous lawsuits, maintains he does not have any money troubles. Even though investors and others accuse him of selling paintings without their permission and of Ponzi schemes, Salander told the NY Times, “When people say it’s a Ponzi scheme, it’s a house of cards — I’ve got millions of dollars of assets here. It’s beyond belief.”
Except to other people. Some became suspicious of Salander's abilities when he moved from a small gallery on East 79th Street to a townhouse where the monthly rent was at least $154,000 a month. The Times reports that, instead of a cash deposit, Salander gave the townhouse's owner a painting by Edouard Manet worth over $10 million. When he fell behind on his East 79th Street gallery's rent, he worked out a deal to defer paying most of the rent...and also asked his landlady Elaine Rosenberg to invest $200,000 in a painting by Stuart Davis, which he would resell for $800,000 quickly. Rosenberg is now suing him, claiming she never saw her return. And then there are the collectors who sold him works and never received payments for them. Oops!
The Post details many of Salander's "arrangements" with other investors-turned-angry plaintiffs, including hedge fund investor Roy Lennox, who gave Salander over $800,000 for a sculpture that turned out to be a fake, as well as Salander's expensive lifestyle. Still, Salander claims his innocence, "I did 579 shows without problem for 40 years, and suddenly on the 580th one, I'm a crook."
The 15th century painting The Annunciation, which was a gift, from Julie and Lawrence Salander in honor of Keith Christiansen, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Tagged
art
lawrence
lawsuits
metropolitan museum
money
museum
ny times
people
sculpture
the post
the times
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
The Knicks are NBA champions. Now they have to start dressing the part.
Before they attempt to fend off LeBron James and the 76ers on Tuesday, the Knicks will have a chance to show off their winning mentality through their tunnel fits.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 19, 2026
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Arts & Entertainment
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .