Art collector and proprietor of New York’s Venus Over Manhattan gallery Adam Lindemann was arrested in Montauk on July 5 for criminal trespass in the third degree, a misdemeanor, and harassment in the second degree, according to police records published by the East Hampton Press.
Lindemann, who owns a house nicknamed “Eothen” in Montauk that used to belong to Andy Warhol, “entered a private property—through an open driveway gate with a ‘No Trespassing’ sign on it—and went into a building used as an art gallery without permission,” the report said. According to Lindemann’s lawyer, the art gallery mentioned in the record is The Ranch, which is owned by Max Levai, former Marlborough staffer and son of megadealer Pierre Levai. Levai could not immediately be reached for comment.
The East Hampton Press also said the dealer and son of billionaire collector and financier George Lyle Lindemann was issued an appearance ticket to appear in court. Lindemann’s lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., told Artnet News that he appeared in court today for the art dealer requesting his trial be moved, and that Lindemann will be pleading not guilty. “These charges are absurd, my client has been to The Ranch many times since the opening three years ago,” he said.
On the matter of the harassment charge, the report said “Police said [Lindemann] also pushed another man in the chest with both hands.” The East Hampton Police Department could not immediately give further details, but Burke identified the other person in the altercation as Levai.
According to Burke, the dispute began over broken zoning regulations from The Ranch. “Mr. Levai apparently has several issues with the town of East Hampton related to violations of the zoning code…These frustrations should be addressed to the town, and not my client. I’m very confident that these charges will be dropped.”
Lindemann, who is 61, has owned the 5.7 acre estate out East since 2015, when he bought it from former J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler for $48.7 million. He attempted to sell the house in the summer of 2020 for $65 million, without success, and maintains several other properties in the area.
Earlier this summer, Artnet News reported that the South Etna Montauk Foundation, an exhibition space co-run by Lindemann and his wife, fellow dealer Amalia Dayan, had closed, and that Eothen was listed for short-term rental.
