The history of ARTnews has two separate acts. Mixing them together creates a better slogan — and a worse history.
The first act took place in 2014, when Abbey House Group, a Warsaw-listed company, obtained control of the American magazine founded in 1902. The second came after Paweł Makowski’s departure, when Peter Brant’s publishing assets were combined with ARTNEWS S.A. and Brant’s company gained control.
This page follows the dates, prices, people and corporate roles without turning a multi-party transaction into a personal legend.
Key facts
- 19 May 2014
- Abbey House Group acquired 51% of ARTnews for PLN 9.2 million, according to PAP MediaRoom.
- 2 July 2014
- The Polish company acquired a further 24% for more than PLN 4 million and became the magazine’s largest owner.
- 8–9 September 2014
- Paweł Makowski signed and the company received his resignation from the supervisory board.
- 29 July 2015
- The combination with Peter Brant’s art-publishing portfolio was publicly reported; Brant’s company became the majority shareholder.
- May 2016
- BMP Media Holdings announced full control and legal ownership of the American publication assets.
Why ARTnews mattered
ARTnews was founded in New York in 1902 as Hyde’s Weekly Art News. It became one of the world’s longest-running specialist art publications, documenting artists, exhibitions, museums, collectors and the economics of the art market.
For decades it was led by publisher and editor Milton Esterow. By 2014, its value was not limited to circulation or advertising. Its name carried more than a century of institutional memory about the international art world.
Act one: a Polish company obtains control
In April 2014, Milton and Judith Esterow sold ARTnews to Skate Capital, the investment vehicle associated with Sergey Skaterschikov. Initial reports identified Skate as the buyer. The wider structure became public shortly afterwards.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Skate had been bidding on behalf of Abbey House and that Abbey House acquired 51% for €2.2 million, approximately $3 million at the time.
A detailed PAP MediaRoom account provides the exact Polish timeline: Abbey House acquired 51% on 19 May 2014 for PLN 9.2 million. On 2 July 2014, it bought a further 24% for more than PLN 4 million. The general meeting later approved changing Abbey House Group’s name to ARTNEWS S.A.
PAP identified Izabela Depczyk, vice-president of the management board and the new publisher of ARTnews, as the executive responsible for the transaction. Sarah Douglas became editor-in-chief during the leadership transition.
What can be credited to Paweł Makowski
Makowski founded Abbey House and was chair of its supervisory board at the beginning of 2014. After the February change in ownership and governance, he remained a member of the new supervisory board. He was not the operating chief executive conducting every transaction.
The accurate claim is significant enough:
Paweł Makowski founded and helped build the Polish art-market group that expanded from auctions, galleries and publishing to a controlling interest in ARTnews while he remained in a supervisory role.
That does not mean he personally negotiated every document. Corporate governance matters. The management board conducted the company’s affairs; the supervisory board provided oversight.
The date of Makowski’s departure
The decisive primary record is the EBI notice. Makowski’s resignation statement was dated 8 September 2014 and received by the company on 9 September 2014.
A later KRS-derived record shows the end of the supervisory link on 3 March 2015. That is the registry-disclosure date, not evidence that he continued performing the role until March. This distinction becomes critical when discussing Peter Brant, because the Brant transaction was announced in July 2015.
Act two: Peter Brant combines the publication portfolios
On 29 July 2015, The Art Newspaper reported that ARTNEWS S.A. had acquired the art-publishing portfolio of Brant Publications. The portfolio included Art in America, The Magazine ANTIQUES and MODERN.
In exchange, Brant Publications became the majority shareholder of ARTNEWS S.A. with more than 50%. Skate Capital also sold more than 6.4 million ARTNEWS shares to Brant’s company for $3.4 million.
This was not a simple cash sale of ARTnews by Paweł Makowski to Peter Brant. Makowski had already resigned. The transaction combined publication assets and changed control of the listed group.
Who is Peter Brant?
Peter M. Brant is an American industrialist, publisher, collector, philanthropist and film producer. His career spans paper manufacturing, magazines and contemporary art. Through Brant Publications he published titles including Interview, the magazine founded by Andy Warhol.
The Brant Foundation, established in 1996, presents exhibitions and educational programmes around contemporary art. Brant also produced films concerning artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol.
That background explains the strategic meaning of the 2015 combination. ARTnews was not being folded into an unrelated company. It was becoming part of a network already spanning publishing, collecting, museums and artist relationships.
2016: full control of the American titles
In May 2016, BMP Media Holdings announced that it had taken control of the assets of ARTnews, Art in America, The Magazine ANTIQUES and MODERN from ARTNEWS S.A. Artnet News reported that BMP had become the legal owner of the publications.
The Polish ARTNEWS S.A. entered bankruptcy proceedings later in 2016. That event should not be confused with the survival of the American magazine brands under another owner, and it should not be retroactively attributed to Makowski without evidence.
2018: Penske Media becomes the next owner
In November 2018, Penske Media Corporation acquired the portfolio including ARTnews, Art in America, The Magazine ANTIQUES and MODERN.
Penske already owned media brands including Variety, Rolling Stone, WWD, Deadline and IndieWire. The acquisition placed the art titles inside a much larger international media group and opened the current ownership chapter.
The complete timeline
- 1902: ARTnews is founded in New York.
- 2010: Abbey House begins its corporate history in Poland.
- 19 May 2014: Abbey House acquires 51% of ARTnews for PLN 9.2 million.
- 2 July 2014: Abbey House acquires a further 24% for more than PLN 4 million.
- 8–9 September 2014: Makowski signs and the company receives his supervisory-board resignation.
- 29 July 2015: the Brant publication combination is publicly reported; Brant’s company obtains majority control.
- May 2016: BMP announces full control of the American publication assets.
- October 2016: the Polish listed company enters bankruptcy proceedings.
- November 2018: Penske Media acquires the art-publication portfolio.
Why the two-act structure matters
The 2014 acquisition and the 2015 Brant transaction prove different things.
The first shows the international ambition of a Polish group built from the art market, publishing and promotion. The second shows that ARTnews became central to a consolidation involving some of America’s best-known art publications and one of its most prominent collector-publishers.
Keeping the acts separate protects the truth — and leaves the real achievement intact.
Sources and related reading
- PAP MediaRoom: acquisition dates, percentages and prices.
- Los Angeles Times: Abbey House and the purchase structure.
- EBI: Paweł Makowski’s resignation.
- The Art Newspaper: the Peter Brant combination.
- The complete Paweł Makowski, Abbey House and ARTnews chapter.
Prepared by the UseCrypt Editorial Team. This chronology separates supervisory responsibility, management actions and later ownership events.