Photo by Kris Wilton

George Condo Richard Prince Stunt at Sotheby’s Lands Tape Artist in Jail Phillips de Pury Makes Its (Small) Mark Modern Masters Give FIAC a Boost Tate May Trash "Pop Life" Exhibition Catalogs Less Is More at This Year’s Frieze Tate’s Richard Prince Room Reopens With an Older, Clothed Shields

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In April 2008, Gary Tatintsian, one of the first promoters of contemporary Western art in Russia, agreed to pay $2.7 million for 12 new Condo paintings, court papers say. The following July, he gave Luhring Augustine a $1 million advance, and under an amended contract, the gallery agreed to deliver two Condo paintings every two months, with Tatintsian agreeing to pay for the paintings as delivered, the legal complaint says. But Tatintsian allegedly never received any Condo pieces.

In another transaction, Tatintsian allegedly paid $2 million for a Prince painting with the understanding that the gallery would sell him a painting by Christopher Wool for a discounted price of $196,000. The complaint says Luhring Augustine failed to deliver the Wool piece.

The gallery’s attorney, Roger Netzer, calls the lawsuit baseless and says Tatintsian failed to meet his contractual obligations. Regarding the Condo deal, Netzer says that this summer Luhring offered the dealer five Condo paintings but Tatintsian refused delivery. Tatintsian responds that the gallery offered the paintings too late and that they weren’t the ones he wanted. Netzer also says Luhring Augustine denies making an agreement concerning the Prince-Wool package.

In his suit, Tatintsian asks the gallery to return his $1 million deposit for the Condo works and the $2 million he spent on the Prince.

Read more at Bloomberg.