Art dealer Gary Nader has decided to sell $100 million of art from his private collection to fund the Nader Art Museum Latin America. Nader's journey to construct the full scale museum has not been without drama as we reported in March 2017 that Nader was still interested in bringing the Nader Art Museum Latin America to Downtown Miami, it is currently in an interim space located at 62NE 27th Street. In 2015 Nader submitted a bid to develop Miami Dade College's 520 Biscayne Boulevard property in a mixed-use project that would feature the museum and condos. Miami Dade College chose Related Group as the winning bid and fell into a legal battle with Nader before canceling the project. Nader has now set his sights on selling over 100 pieces of art, valued at over $100 million, during Art Basel. The offered pieces will be one of the largest masterpiece collections ever offered at Art Basel and will feature a $15 million Picasso. Works offered for sale include pieces by Pablo Picasso, Fernando Botero, Damien Hirts, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, Henri Matisse, Matta, Mario Carreño, Sandro Chia, Carlos Cruz Diez, Nan Goldin, and Enio Iommi, amongst others. The Nader Art Museum Latin America collection will not be included in the sale, which features a permanent collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography, installations and other media, the museum’s audience can experience Latin America's Contemporary art scene. The museum’s collection originates from Gary’s private collection.
“We are currently curating an exclusive collection of great masterpieces from very important artists that we’ll offer during Art Basel Miami Beach this December”, said Gary Nader, founder of NAMLA. “We own many important works by the same artists including the largest and most important collection of Maestro Fernando Botero in the world and by selling some of those pieces we will be able to bring other important artists’ works to the museum as well. I’ve been tiredly promoting and champion our art for nearly 40 years and even though we have seen much progress and many international museums and galleries have followed our lead, I strongly believe this much-needed museum will definitely give Latin American art the importance and relevance that have long deserved”.