Robert Mnuchin, influential New York gallerist and former trader, dies

Robert Mnuchin, a prominent New York gallerist known for landmark secondary market transactions, has passed away. He began his career in finance, working for 33 years as an equities trader primarily at Goldman Sachs and serving as a director of the New York Stock Exchange. In 1992, he co-founded C&M Arts in New York with James Corcoran, where they presented exhibitions featuring Willem de Kooning, Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, and Phillip Guston. The gallery played a key role in advancing the market for Black Abstraction through shows of artists like Ed Clark and Sam Gilliam. In 2005, Mnuchin partnered with Dominique Lévy, rebranding the gallery as L&M Arts and adding David Hammons to their roster. One of his notable deals occurred in 2019 when he acquired Jeff Koons's stainless steel Rabbit sculpture for $80 million on behalf of Steve Cohen, marking the second-highest price ever paid for a living artist's work. His son Steven served as Treasury Secretary during the first Trump administration.