culture
The art world is not fair; it’s not first-come, first-serve. —MARY ZLOT
MARY ZLOT
This art advisor matches clients with their dream pieces
MARY ZLOT: KELLY HUANG. JIM CAMPBELL, EXPLODED VIEW (BIRDS), 2010: DAVID STROUD/TODD HOSFELT GALLERY. JORDAN KANTOR, UNTITLED (BASEL LENS FLARE 4019), 2009: IMAGE COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND RATIO 3, S.F.. TAUBA AUERBACH, UNTITLED (FOLD), 2011: © TAUBA AUERBACH. COURTESY PAULA COOPER GALLERY, NEW YORK
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hen a new collector pops into a gallery to ask about a painting by Cy Twombly, the rep will often say it’s on hold. That’s because the gallery is waiting for an answer. “The gallery chooses to place work, not sell work,” says San Francisco-based art advisor Mary Zlot. “The art world is not fair; it’s not first-come, first-serve.” Get in tight with Zlot, and you may have a chance to snag that rare Twombly. After 34 years in the business, Zlot is one of the go-to names for special clients—many of hers are serious collectors generous about donating and sharing their treasures with the community. FROM TOP Jim Campbell, Exploded View (Birds), Her firm, Zlot Buell + Associates (formerly 2010. Mary Zlot. Jordan Mary Zlot & Associates), currently Kantor, Untitled (Basel Lens Flare 4019), 2009. handles around 30 accounts, from Tauba Auerbach, Charles Schwab’s corporate cache to Untitled (Fold), 2011. early Silicon Valley personal troves; art stashed in their multiple homes or global offices; and works sometimes numbering in the thousands. In 1978, the young mother of three was at a Christmas party with the principal of a large architectural design firm in Jackson Square. He was looking to create a brand-new service for their corporate clients, helping them select art. The former art history major was eager; she joined the firm that January. From humble beginnings developing the firm’s art advising department, to her own business, Zlot strove to build integrity. Anyone with a few art classes can masquerade as an advisor, and some in the field take a commission from both the buyer and the seller (usually the dealer) when finding a work for their client. Zlot has never double-dipped. “We never receive funds from dealers,” she says. “Discounts we get—framers, for example— we pass onto clients,” she says. Early on, she joined the Association of Professional Art Advisors and chose to work with collectors who weren’t interested CONTINUED ON PAGE 182 in flipping their art. If a collector,
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