After some hesitation Brad Pitt recently purchased the oil painting "Etappe" by artist Neo Rauch for just under $1 million from A list New York art dealer David Zwirner at the Art Basel art fair.
After eyeing the 9-foot-wide work for several minutes, Pitt rubbed his goatee, fiddled with his tweed driving cap, and walked away. Zwirner, looking slightly anxious, said, “He’s on the fence. Nothing wrong with that, I guess.”
Pitt returned minutes later with Eli and Edythe Broad, the major Los Angeles collectors. Pitt and Broad conferred and then the group left.
Broad, hours later, says he gave the actor a friendly nudge. “I told him we had four Rauchs and if he didn’t buy it, we probably would.”
Also, check out this interesting recent interview conducted by the WSJ with David Zwirner.