Billionaire Steve Schwarzman has caused a quite the stir in the London art market. The co-founder of private equity firm Blackstone has been buying up works by 18th-century society portraitists Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough for record prices, the Financial Times reported last week.
Schwarzman received an honorary knighthood from the UK government in 2023 and is currently restoring Conholt Park, a 17th-century estate in Wiltshire, which he has discreetly been decorating with his recently purchased rare paintings, including Reynolds’ Portrait of Lady Worsley, which he reportedly bought for approximately £25 million ($31 million) and Gainsborough’s Lady Bate-Dudley. Both pictures were acquired through private sales.
Reynolds’ Portrait of Lady Worsley has been a fixture at Harewood House in West Yorkshire since the 18th century. The painting depicts Seymour Fleming, a prominent heiress entangled in a notorious adultery case that scandalized Georgian society. The Lascelles family, who owned the portrait, sold it to cover the estate’s maintenance costs after receiving an anonymous offer through Christie’s private sales. Schwarzman also purchased Gainsborough’s Lady Bate-Dudley, previously on long-term loan to the Tate Gallery, through Simon Dickinson, a London gallery. While the exact price of the Gainsborough painting is unknown, it reportedly surpassed the artist’s auction record of £8.2 million ($10.17 million) set in 2019.
Schwarzman has allegedly adopted a direct approach to building his collection, making private offers to owners of rare 18th-century paintings without seeking export licenses—a move that avoids potential government intervention. The thin market for such works, coupled with families hesitant to sell their holdings, has allowed Schwarzman to capitalize on his willingness to pay “knockout” prices. Art advisers in London had speculated for months about an anonymous buyer offering high sums for significant works.
Schwarzman’s acquisitions align with his broader arts patronage. His philanthropy includes a £185 million donation to Oxford University and plans to convert Miramar, his Gilded Age mansion in Rhode Island, into a private art museum after he and his wife die.
