There are various figures with artworld connections on Vanity Fair‘s annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people (to be published in the October issue, but online now). Only two, however, were selected expressly for their visual art creds.
This VIP roster is peopled by moguls and mega-celebrities. Influential visual artists, museum officials, scholars and critics need not apply.
You’re likely to guess the first artworld luminary on your first try.
The second may come as a surprise.
But wait a minute! There are two other artworld figures on the magazine’s companion list of up-and-coming members of The Next Establishment. Occupying the #10 slot is none other than LA MOCA’s dealer-turned-director Jeffrey Deitch, who stands out as not being as young, rich and/or famous as most of his fellow aspirants. Coming it at #39 is Dasha Zhukova, Russian gazillionaire Roman Abramovich‘s 29-year-old curator/girlfriend. She perfectly fits the Vanity Fair mold and has the added attraction of being gorgeous.
Are Tom Campbell, Neil MacGregor and Henri Loyrette unworthy of mention in this company? They’re as gorgeous as Jeffrey Deitch; they must be rich enough, since they don’t seem to feel compelled (as Deitch has said he may) to sell art from their personal collections to make ends meet; and they have lots more clout in the artworld as the directors of three of the world’s preeminent museums (Metropolitan Museum, British Museum and the Louvre, respectively).
Then again, Deitch’s neighbors are reportedly the movie stars who rank #75 on VF’s Top 100, and he’s recently appeared in a soap opera episode. Celebrity points count…at least on the pages of Vanity Fair.