Skarstedt Gallery Acquires Former Home of Cheim & Read for $13M

Cheim & Read, a now-shuttered contemporary art gallery, has sold its Chelsea location at 547-549 West 25th Street to fine art exhibitor Skarstedt Gallery for $13.2 million, according to city records. 

The deal was recorded Oct. 11 and was finalized Oct. 29, the records show. The retail space has 5,891 square feet of built space and 23,584 square feet of additional air rights, according to PincusCo data. The sale price was $2,249 per built square foot, according to PincusCo, and $449 per buildable square foot. 

Howard Read and John Cheim founded the eponymous gallery in 1997 and opened in February of that year with an exhibition featuring the work of French-American Artist Louise Bourgeois and American conceptual artist Jenny Holzer, according to the gallery website. The gallery initially opened at a location on West 23rd Street and moved to 547 West 25th Street in 2001. 

Cheim & Read announced in November 2023 that it would be ending its public exhibition program after 26 years. The gallery’s longtime partner and director, Maria Bueno, launched her own fine art dealership, Bueno & Co, earlier this year.  

Skarstedt, meanwhile, was founded in 1994 and has galleries at 20 East 79th Street and one in Paris, according to its website. It plans to debut its new Chelsea gallery Nov. 8 with an exhibition from street artists Kaws.

Both Read and Cheim are signatories on the documents for Cheim & Read, while Skarstedt owner Per Skarstedt signed for his gallery. Neither Cheim & Read nor Skarstedt Gallery responded to requests for comment. It’s unclear who brokered the sale.

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.