A recurring joke on @jerrygogosian—the art world’s favorite satirical Instagram account, operated by gallerist Hilde Lynn Helphenstein—is about infamous waitlists for brand new work by galleries’ most desirable artists. The joke, on which “Jerry” has hung countless memes, goes like this: “Nothing is available,” a dealer says to a collector, “but you might want to look at the other artists in my program.”
It’s an open secret that galleries often accord special treatment to those collectors who display long-term loyalty. But then there’s the prestige factor—being on the boards of major museums (in particular the Museum of Modern Art in New York), having a private museum, or being just plain influential—that lets you skip the line. Below (in alphabetical order) are some of the names that fall firmly in that camp, and regularly buy work on the primary market.
Top of the Waiting List:
Key: ■ = Private museum; ⬢ = Current or Life Trustee of MoMA
Haryanto Adikoesoemo ■
Museum MACAN, Jakarta
Hélène and Bernard Arnault ■
Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris
Edythe L. and Eli Broad ■ ⬢
The Broad, Los Angeles
Joop van Caldenborgh ■
Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, the Netherlands
Troy Carter
LACMA Trustee
Lonti Ebers ⬢
Charlotte Feng Ford
Amanda & Glenn Fuhrman ■ ⬢
FLAG Art Foundation, New York
Kenneth C. Griffin
Art Institute of Chicago Trustee
Christine and Andrew Hall ■
Hall Art Foundation, Vermont and Germany
Marguerite Hoffman
Dallas Museum of Art former trustee
Maja Hoffmann ■
LUMA Foundation, Arles, France
Pamela J. Joyner & Alfred J. Giuffrida
SFMOMA Trustee, The J. Paul Getty Trust Trustee; Tate Americas Foundation Trustee
Jill and Peter Kraus ⬢
Marie-Josée & Henry Kravis ⬢
Liz and Eric Lefkofsky
MCA Chicago Trustee
Eugenio López Alonso ■
Museo Jumex, Mexico City
Niarchos Family ⬢
Maja Oeri ■ ⬢
Schaulager, Switzerland
Michael Ovitz ⬢
François Pinault ■
Palazzo Grassi – Punta della Dogana, Venice
Miuccia Prada & Patrizio Bertelli ■
Fondazione Prada, Milan
Qiao Zhibing ■
Tank Shanghai
Cindy & Howard Rachofsky ■
The Warehouse, Dallas
Mitchell & Emily Rales ■
Glenstone, Potomac, Maryland
Bob Rennie ■
Rennie Collection, Vancouver, British Columbia
Ellen & Michael Ringier
Helen & Charles Schwab
SFMOMA Trustee
Jerry I. Speyer & Katherine G. Farley ⬢
Alice Walton ■
Chairwoman, Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, Arkansas
Wang Wei & Liu Yiqian ■
Long Museum, Shanghai and Chongqing, China