Crisis communication for galleries: managing a scandal in the art world

01Types of crises that threaten a gallery

Authenticity crises are among the most feared. When a work sold by the gallery is called into question — by an expert, a catalogue raisonne, an artist's heir or a dissatisfied buyer — the dealer's credibility is directly attacked. Knoedler & Company, which closed in 2011 after a scandal involving the sale of fake paintings attributed to Rothko, Pollock and de Kooning, illustrates the extreme risk of this type of crisis. The affair led to high-profile lawsuits and destroyed a gallery founded in 1846, one of the oldest in New York.

Relationship crises with artists represent another major risk. An artist who publicly denounces their gallery — on social media, in the press, during an interview — places the dealer in a difficult defensive position. Grievances may concern delayed payments, lack of transparency about sales, disagreement over career strategy or a personal breach of trust. These crises, even when based on misunderstandings, can trigger the departure of other represented artists and collector mistrust. The domino effect is the principal danger: an artist who departs angrily sends a negative signal to all other artists in the programme.

Controversies linked to exhibition content constitute a growing category of crises. A work deemed offensive — for political, religious, identity or social sensitivity reasons — can provoke virulent reactions, boycott calls or even physical threats. The dealer finds themselves caught between defending artistic freedom and managing media and social pressure that can become overwhelming. Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin has faced controversies around certain exhibitions, which it managed by maintaining its artistic position while engaging with stakeholders.

Crises linked to provenance are gaining importance as research into spoliation — Nazi, colonial, illicit — develops. A dealer who discovers that a work in stock is the subject of a restitution claim must manage a legally complex and media-sensitive situation. Transparency and good faith are the only acceptable responses in this context. Databases such as the Art Loss Register allow works to be verified upstream, but no system is infallible.

02The first hours are decisive

Crisis management rests on a fundamental principle: the first hours determine the event's trajectory. A crisis not addressed immediately amplifies exponentially, carried by social media, specialist press and art world word of mouth. The dealer who waits hoping the crisis will resolve itself commits the most common and costly error.

The first step is establishing a crisis team, even informally. The dealer must gather trusted individuals who can help analyse the situation, make decisions and communicate: a lawyer specialised in art law, a press officer or communications consultant, an external adviser providing an objective perspective. Decisions made in the heat of emotion — an angry press release, a social media post, an off-the-cuff statement to the press — are almost always regretted. The time for reflection, even if it lasts only a few hours, is an investment that prevents irreparable mistakes.

The second step is fact-gathering. Before communicating, the dealer must have a clear and factual picture of the situation. What exactly happened? Who is involved? What evidence is available? What are the legal risks? This analysis phase, even if it lasts only a few hours, is essential to avoid communicating inaccurate information that would worsen the crisis. The dealer must document every fact, every exchange, every decision: this traceability will prove invaluable should the matter take a legal dimension.

03Communicating with transparency and restraint

Gallery crisis communication must balance transparency with protecting the gallery's interests. Complete silence is rarely a viable option: it is interpreted as an admission of guilt or contempt for stakeholders. Media overexposure is equally dangerous: it feeds the information cycle and extends the crisis duration.

The press release is the basic tool. It must be factual, measured and empathetic where the situation requires. The dealer acknowledges established facts, expresses concern if people are affected, describes measures taken or underway, and refrains from any accusation or polemic. The tone must be one of responsibility, not aggressive defence. A press release reviewed by a lawyer and a communications professional before distribution avoids unfortunate formulations that could be turned against the gallery.

Social media require specific management. A viral negative comment on Instagram can reach thousands within hours. The dealer must monitor accounts and mentions, respond to legitimate comments with calm and professionalism, and ignore provocations that do not warrant a response. Deleting critical comments is a risky tactic that is often denounced and worsens perceptions of concealment. The best approach is to respond once, factually and with dignity, then refrain from fuelling the debate.

Direct communication with key stakeholders — important collectors, represented artists, institutional partners — is often more effective than public communication. A personal telephone call to a major collector explaining the situation and reassuring them about past acquisitions is worth more than a press release. These private conversations prevent defections and maintain the circle of trust around the gallery. The dealer should identify the five to ten people whose reaction will determine the crisis outcome and contact them first.

04Managing an authenticity crisis

The authenticity crisis is the most technical and dangerous. When a work sold by the gallery is contested, the dealer must react with absolute rigour. The first measure is to immediately suspend all sales of the artist concerned until the situation is clarified. The second measure is to commission an independent expert — not one connected to the gallery — to examine the work and deliver a reasoned opinion. The third measure is to communicate with the buyer proactively, before they learn of the dispute from a third party.

If the work proves authentic, the gallery must obtain formal certification and communicate it to the buyer and the market. If the work proves inauthentic or doubtful, the gallery must offer the collector a full refund or exchange without discussion or delay. Attempting to minimise the problem or shift responsibility to a third party is a strategy that systematically fails and worsens legal and reputational consequences.

The dealer must also examine the entire stock to verify whether other works from the same source are affected. This preventive step, even if costly and anxiety-inducing, is preferable to the successive discovery of multiple problems that would install lasting doubt about the gallery's integrity. Complete traceability of supply sources then becomes a survival tool.

05Crisis as an opportunity for clarification

Paradoxically, a well-managed crisis can strengthen a gallery's reputation. A dealer who faces a difficult situation with transparency, responsibility and efficiency earns the respect of peers, artists and collectors. How a gallery navigates adversity says more about its values than years of incident-free operation.

David Zwirner has weathered controversies linked to market practices — high prices, selective access to works — and responded by opening a free online viewing space and publishing reflective texts on the gallery's role in the artistic ecosystem. Pace Gallery, confronted with publicised artist departures, communicated with dignity and reinforced its programme with new signings that demonstrated its capacity to rebound. Hauser & Wirth, facing criticism over its rapid expansion, responded with community and educational initiatives demonstrating commitment beyond commerce.

The dealer should document lessons learned from each crisis and implement preventive procedures. A more rigorous authenticity verification protocol, clearer representation contracts, a pre-established crisis communication policy with template messages and a decision chain: these measures reduce the risk of recurrence and prepare the gallery to face any future crisis with greater composure.

06Prevention rather than cure

The best crisis communication strategy is prevention. The dealer who maintains transparent relationships with artists, rigorously documents the provenance of works, communicates regularly with collectors and addresses disagreements privately before they become public considerably reduces exposure to crisis risk.

Monitoring is an essential preventive tool. Tracking what is said about the gallery online — social media, specialist forums, press — allows detection of the weak signals of a nascent crisis and intervention before it amplifies. An isolated negative comment may be the first sign of a broader discontent that deserves to be addressed at its source. Media monitoring tools, even simple ones like Google Alerts, enable the dealer to stay informed without excessive time investment.

Team training is also important. Every member of gallery staff must know how to react in a crisis: not responding to media without authorisation, directing questions to the designated person, not commenting on social media in a personal capacity. These simple guidelines prevent unfortunate statements that complicate crisis management. An annual crisis simulation exercise, even informal, prepares the team to react with composure when a real situation arises.

For Artedusa partner galleries, presence on a professional platform constitutes in itself a credibility element that contributes to crisis prevention. The visibility of works, documentation of exhibitions and transparency of information published on Artedusa strengthen collector confidence and reduce the risk of misunderstandings that can escalate into crisis situations.