London Art Dealer Joseph Nahmad, Scion of a Powerful Collecting Family, Pleads Guilty to Assaulting His Girlfriend

London art dealer Joseph Nahmad, who runs the Mayfair gallery
Nahmad Projects, has
pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend.

In March, Nahmad attacked his girlfriend, Georgia Barry, at his
London home in what prosecutor John Fairhead described in
the Evening
Standard as a “considerable beating—banging her
head against the wall.” Nahmad, who is 31, also pleaded guilty to
attacking Barry during another incident in October.

He pleaded not guilty, however, to an alleged attack that took
place at the nightclub Tape London, and that charge has since been
dropped. “There was an incident in a nightclub where a scratch and
bruise were sustained. Very minor injuries,” Nahmad’s attorney,
William Clegg, told the Southwark Crown Court.

Clegg also told the court that Barry had previously tried to
withdraw her allegations against Nahmad, who said in a statement:
“She was in a consensual, loving relationship that at times became
toxic.” Clegg and Fairhead did not immediately respond to requests
for comment from artnet News.

Joseph Nahmad comes a long line of powerful art collectors and
dealers. (Christie’s honorary chairman Christopher Burge once said the family,
which has one of the world’s largest collections of Impressionist,
Modern, and contemporary art, had “sold more works of art than
anybody alive.”) He is the son of Monaco-based art collector
Ezra Nahmad and the nephew of billionaire dealer David Nahmad.
Another dealer named Joseph Nahmad, who runs the gallery Nahmad
Contemporary in New York, is his cousin. Their galleries are not
related.

The latest incident is not the first time that members of the
younger Nahmad generation have found themselves in legal trouble.
Helly Nahmad, Joseph Nahmad’s cousin in New York, was sentenced to
a year in prison in 2014 for his role in a $100 million illegal
gambling ring.

Nahmad Projects, the London gallery that Joseph opened with
Italian dealer Tommaso Calabro in 2016, is known for pairing
historic works by masters such as Jean Tinguely and Pierre-Auguste
Renoir with contemporary artists, like Jason Rhoades. Its inaugural
show, organized by the celebrated curator Francesco Bonami,
presented performance art inspired by the work of Tino Sehgal.

Joseph Nahmad pleaded guilty to two charges of assault
occasioning actual bodily harm. He is currently out on bail until
his next court appearance on September 2, where he could be
sentenced to serve time in jail.

The post London Art Dealer Joseph Nahmad, Scion of a
Powerful Collecting Family, Pleads Guilty to Assaulting His
Girlfriend appeared first on artnet News.