The great estates race

There was a time, not so long ago, when the word estate in an art market context referred to the collection left behind by an august patron of the arts, to be battled for and divvied up across an auction houses bargaining table. These days, however, an estate battle is more likely to be waged among high-powered dealers for the works left behind when an artist dies.
In the past 18 months, galleries have signed dozens of estates, giving them the often-exclusive right to represent the artists heir