Art Scandal: Journalist Evan Solomon, Art Collector Dealer Bruce Bailey, Businessman Jim Balsillie and Artist Peter Doig

I think it's safe to say we've all heard of the conflict of interest scandal that has brought down journalist Evan Solomon. In an odd bit of coincidence, I was reading the May 2015 issue of British art magazine Apollo which had a cover story on artist Peter Doig (who incidentally also has a strong Canadian connection). Doig's paintings are central to Solomon's story and fall from grace. His work sells for millions and I was intrigued to read the interview with him in Apollo. Doig is a major contemporary living artist and the Library has many books about him.

Bruce Bailey, art collector/dealer/socialite/bon vivant (is that a job and how does one apply?), sold at least one of Doig's paintings to Research in Motion /Blackberry co-founder Jim Balsillie. Evan Solomon, who introduced the two men, surreptitiously to facilitate the sale of art, felt his contract with Bailey entitled him to a 10% commission on the sale of all art to Balsillie. Bailey had offered "only" a finder's fee of $200,000 and Solomon wanted his regular commission or about $1,070,000 (which puts the Doig painting's worth at about $10 million). Bailey disagreed and Solomon took him to court. They settled before trial.

Wow! It's a complicated, murky, dare I say sordid, combination of art collecting, selling, greed and money. That's the art world in a nutshell. There is often a morally ambiguous relationship between the collector who buys early in an artist's career, then promotes the artist and finally sells their work for a vast profit.

If you're interested in reading about Peter Doig's art you may enjoy: