Crain's New York - November 5, 2012 - (Page 26)

100s of Warhols on block Continued from Page 25 SOURCE LUNCH: by Lisa Fickenscher SUZANNE STRASSBURGER a small piece of one of the most important artists of the 20th century at a more affordable price. “Very few people have seen any of these things,” said Amy Cappellazzo,chairman of postwar and contemporary development at Christie’s.“This is just a sampling of what will be coming from the foundation.” Indeed, the Nov. 12 auctions represent the launch of a longterm agreement between Christie’s and the Andy Warhol Foundation during its 25th anniversary,in which the auction house will help the foundation sell off its remaining collection of about 20,000 works over the course of nearly a decade. The bulk of the collection will be auctioned online starting in February, and through a number of private sales that will take place around the world.Those sales will begin in early 2013 in Asia. “There have been single-artist sales before, but we’re talking about a five- to seven-year partnership to sell a vast amount of work,” said Joel Wachs, president of the Andy Warhol Foundation. “The scale and breadth of this sale is unprecedented.” The foundation decided to sell off its holdings so it could offer more help to its artist and nonprofit grantees. The day of auctions is expected to bring in more than $20 million. With all of the sales over the coming years, Mr. Wachs expects to grow the foundation’s endowment by at least $100 million, bringing it to more than $330 million. That, coupled with savings of about $3 million a year in art storage and insurance costs, will enable the foundation to increase its annual grants to artists and arts organizations to around $20 million from the current $13 million. “The organizations we help around the country have been having a tough time fundraising with the recession, and we want to increase the amount of grants we give,” Mr. Wachs said. ‘Suzy Sirloin’ on her rare place in life S ENDANGERED SPECIES: SAN FRANCISCO Painted circa 1983. Estimated auction price: $1 million to $1.5 million. The plan has caused some major Warhol collectors to become concerned. They are worried that flooding the market with Warhols could reduce the value of the artist’s work, art experts said. Bigger audience Mr. Wachs countered that those collectors had wanted to buy all of the remaining works themselves at “bargain-basement prices,” and that by teaming up with Christie’s, the works will find their price on the open market and get out to a broader audience.“The investment of the hedge-fund guys with $20 million paintings who want to sell them next year for $30 million is not my concern,” Mr. Wachs said. “We’re concerned about getting Andy’s work out to a broader audience and honoring Andy’s will of supporting artists and arts organizations.” Warhol experts said the sales wouldn’t have any effect on the prices for major works because the pieces being sold are of much lesser LYNN WYATT Painted circa 1980. Estimated auction price: $250,000 to $350,000. value. “It’s good for the market because newcomers can buy something of Warhol,” said Christophe Van de Weghe, a Warhol specialist whose Upper East Side gallery has put on Warhol shows. “This isn’t like selling hundreds of his most important works. There are some good opportunities, but it will have zero effect on major collectors.” Ms. Cappellazzo said Christie’s will space out the sales over years so as not to flood the market. “We’re market makers here at Christies,” she said. “We know how to turn on and off the tap. We will not crash the market.” What Christie’s hopes is that the way it handles this business will encourage other artists’estates to come to them, and will also highlight its capabilities with online auctions. The auction house is going all out to make sure these sales are a success. The Nov. 12 sales, which begin with photographs at 10 a.m., paintings and works on paper at noon, and prints at 3 p.m., mark the first time Christie’s has ever held three consecutive sales in a day for one artist. The exhibition to preview the works opened on Oct. 31 with an exclusive Halloween drag costume party at Christie’s headquarters. That same day, Christie’s published a trendy, oversize, three-part sales catalog for the inaugural auctions with original essays on the life and artistic legacy of Mr. Warhol by renowned writers Hilton Als, Jonathan Lethem and Jeanette Winterson. The catalog, selling for $75, is a collector’s item itself. Mr. Van de Weghe said he plans to go to the sales. He has his eye on a group of Warhol self-portrait Polaroids that he says will sell for $20,000 to $30,000 apiece. Selling off the remainder of the foundation’s holdings marks an end of an era in some ways, he said. “What other artist foundation do you have like Warhol’s? He is the most important artist of the second half of the century,” he said. “There is nothing else like this.” uzanne Strassburger, aka “Suzy Sirloin,” is the fifth generation of her family to run Strassburger Meats, a high-end purveyor supplying some of the top steakhouses in the city, including Smith & Wollensky, Quality Meats and Keens. One of the few women CEOs in the meat business, Ms. Strassburger, 45, is facing tough market conditions with soaring beef prices and tighter supplies. A take-charge executive who wears a cowboy hat around town, she has met the challenge with a new line of products— including sausages, ground beef and turkey sliders sold under the Suzy Sirloin brand—and by inking a deal with Williams-Sonoma to sell Strassburger products online to the luxury retailer’s tens of millions of catalog customers. the place, except maybe I didn’t clean the bathrooms. What’s your job like now? For most of my career, I’ve sat at my desk or run in and out of the coolers or made deliveries. But with the economy like it is, I’m on the road making sales calls to restaurants or trying to promote our two-year-old brand, Suzy Sirloin, to food stores like Gristedes and Morton Williams. We had to diversify because our customers are not buying as much prime aged meat, so we are also selling less expensive meats like short ribs and Berkshire pork. You grew up in Chappaqua, N.Y. Why do you wear a cowboy hat? Did you always want to be in the family business? Yes,any time I had a day off from school, I couldn’t wait to go to work with my dad. I couldn’t sleep the night before. My friends still remind me that when we would sell Girl Scout cookies door to door,I wanted to sell meat instead. But I still went to college. I’ve been doing this since my 24th birthday. What’s it like being a woman in this industry? I gained new respect for the ranchers who work so hard in our business.The hat,which I’ve been wearing for about two years, is my way of showing them appreciation, and it’s also part of the Suzy Sirloin logo. It helps to sell the brand. And for the first time, Strassburger prime aged steaks are available online through WilliamsQUALITY MEATS 57 W. 58th St. Sonoma’s catalog. I’m try(212) 371-7777 ing to market meat in a way www.qualitymeats that makes it less intimidatnyc.com ing to women. WHERE THEY DINED AMBIENCE: Sexy, candlelit, with huntinglodge feel, minus deer and bear heads jutting out of the walls. Have you thought about doing a TV show like your competitor Pat LaFrieda? I had to gain everyone’s WHAT THEY ATE: trust and respect—and I Shared dishes: was tested. In my 20s, I green goddess salad, Parmesan helped to load tractor waffle fries, corn trailers with boxes of top crème brûlée browns. I was in good Filet mignon shape because I played Black sea bass volleyball in college, so I TAB: $149.75, told the men to throw the including tip How do you feel about someone boxes at me faster. They like me who doesn’t eat beef? gave it to me so hard that I fell on the ground in a pool of fat and I don’t have a problem with it. Everyblood. I was embarrassed, hurt and one should eat what makes them feel good. I eat meat every day because it very sore. is very satisfying. People don’t know So you have battle scars from the job? that it has zinc,iron and vitamin B.It’s I have several herniated discs, and good for you. I’ve had operations from lifting 80What do you do for fun? pound boxes. I love to go to movies and Broadway How did your father feel about that? shows. Any opportunity I get, I run My father is a hard act to follow. He to museums. I’m used to looking at believes in hard work, so I started at dead animals all day, so it’s nice to see the bottom and have had every job in beautiful art. Since 2007, I’ve been asked to be on seven reality shows. I actually got close to a deal with one, but at the last hour my sister [who handles accounts receivable for Strassburger Meats] and I decided it was about the meat and not about us. We are happy we didn’t do it. INSIDE TIP Side dish corn crème brûlée could easily substitute for a satisfying dessert. 26 | Crain’s New York Business | November 5, 2012 http://www.qualitymeatsnyc.com http://www.qualitymeatsnyc.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's New York - November 5, 2012

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
EDITORIAL
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
REPORT: EDUCATION
CLASSIFIEDS
FOR THE RECORD
DIGITAL NEW YORK
SMALL BUSINESS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crain's New York - November 5, 2012