Alison Jacques Gallery Hit with Lawsuit After Artist’s Estate Cancels Sale to First-Time Collectors
Two Swedish-American buyers, Yoed and Natasha Anise, filed suit against London’s Alison Jacques gallery alleging breach of contract after the sale of three 1990s paintings by Swedish-born artist Monica Sjöö was canceled, according to reporting cited from The Art Newspaper. The couple paid £264,000 (about $358,000) for the works in October 2023 after seeing Sjöö’s retrospective “The Great Cosmic Mother,” which opened at Moderna Museet in Stockholm in 2023, but the estate and gallery later claimed the adviser Marie St. Germain misrepresented the Anises and raised concerns about their stewardship. Jacques allegedly revoked the sale after a dinner tied to the exhibition’s travel to Modern Art Oxford, where Natasha Anise reportedly said they had never bought art before and might never do so again; Jacques also said the estate’s representatives were made uncomfortable by comments at the dinner. In a countersuit, Jacques claimed the Anises intended to use the works merely to decorate their children’s bedrooms rather than support broader appreciation of Sjöö’s art, an allegation Natasha Anise denied, saying she planned to lend the works to museum exhibitions; Sjöö (1938–2005) lived largely in Bristol and was known for the controversial 1968 painting God Giving Birth.
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This story was covered in Heists and Homecomings: Art’s High-Stakes Week