Leonard Blavatnik Owns Modigliani, Enigma Machine

Have you read Connie Bruck’s profile of Ukrainian-born oligarch Leonard Blavatnik in The New Yorker yet? It’s pretty great—filled with

Blavatnik and Richard Mishaan. (Courtesy PMC)
Blavatnik and Richard Mishaan. (Courtesy PMC)

Have you read Connie Bruck’s profile of Ukrainian-born oligarch Leonard Blavatnik in The New Yorker yet? It’s pretty great—filled with juicy tales of extravagant parties and high-stakes business deals cut in those halcyon days when Russia was rushing to privatize its state industries. Not too much about art in there, but we do get a little nugget about Mr. Blavatnik’s collecting habits, below:

Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter

By clicking submit, you agree to our <a href="http://observermedia.com/terms">terms of service</a> and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime.

See all of our newsletters

The British publisher Lord George Weidenfeld, a close friend, told me that Blavatnik has been “systematically collecting very good art recently—contemporary art, and also a Modigliani, one of the best I’ve seen.” Not long ago, Blavatnik showed a guest one of his acquisitions, an Enigma encryption device that the British captured from a German submarine in 1941. As the guest admired the machine, Blavatnik warned, “Don’t touch it! It cost a lot of money!”

Give it a read! (Subscription required.)

Leonard Blavatnik Owns Modigliani, Enigma Machine