Peter Nahum, a major art collector and dealer has won a court case in July 1997 against the Royal Holloway College of London University which acted behind his back to sell some important paintings, according to the London newspaper the Daily Telegraph. The college was described as having betrayed its founder's trust by selling three great paintings by Turner, Gainsborough and Constable in trying to solve dire financial problems. In 1993, it sold the first of its three pictures, Turner's Admiral Van Tromp Going About to the Getty Museum in California for £ 11 millions (US $ 18,3 millions). It then committed its Gainsborough for auction at Christie's only to pull it out eight months later on receiving an offer of
£ 3,5 millions from a mystery buyer. The withdrawal fee cost
£ 175,000 (almost US $ 300,000). The offer was accepted via the dealer Peter Nahum who had agreed a 2.5 % fee with the college if any of the three pictures was sold to a buyer he introduced but in February 1994, the college dealt directly with the mystery buyer - Doncaster furniture king Sir Graham Kirkham - through his sole agent, Alan Hobart of Pym's Gallery in Mayfair, London.
Both Hobart and the college kept their private dealing hidden from Mr Nahum who eventually learned that something fishy was going on and threatened to sue the college for acting behind his back. Mr Nahum finally brought the case before a court and won after a judge ordered the college to pay his full commission, £ 196,500 plus interest on the sale of the Constable which had been bought by Sir Kirkham for £ 6,7 millions in April 1995. Mr Hobart, described by his former friend Mr Nahum as a blatant liar and a traitor said the judge had not understood the inner workings of the art world and hoped the college would appeal.
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