Artists scramble to retrieve work from Stephen Friedman Gallery

Artists are scrambling to retrieve their artworks from London’s troubled Stephen Friedman Gallery before Friday, when a creditor lien would take effect and artworks could be locked in place if they were not collected, sources told Urgent Matter.

A source familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity, said one artist on the gallery’s roster had gone to London with a van on Wednesday to load up their artwork, just days before the deadline. The gallery did not respond to a request for comment from Urgent Matter.

“It's terrible. There's work in storage all over London and New York and Hong Kong,” New York-based artist Pam Glick, who is also on the gallery’s roster, told Urgent Matter.

News of the gallery’s financial woes was first reported by Kenny Schachter for Artnet News. In his article, Schachter said artists represented by the gallery whom he spoke to alleged that the gallery owed money to its artists and vendors.

One source who spoke to Schachter said that an “emergency” call was scheduled with gallery staff last week.

Glick told Urgent Matter she was “doing my best” when asked how she personally was handling retrieving her artwork on short notice.

“I am working with an international art mover. It's going to cost me a lot,” she said.

Glick was asked if that was an expense she might be able to get back from the gallery and if there has been any coordination between artists on the roster to pool resources.

“That's funny. Zero help from them,” she said. “Nothing else to say as it's been radio silence.”

The news came just weeks after the Maruani Mercier Gallery announced on Instagram on January 21 that it would represent Glick in joint collaboration with Friedman, calling it “a moment made all the more meaningful as we celebrate the artist’s 70th birthday today.”

It is not yet known if the other artists and estates represented by the gallery have begun to be transferred to other galleries.

Public records filed with Companies House in the U.K. and reviewed by Urgent Matter show that the gallery has been under growing financial strain in recent years.

Its most recent annual report, covering 2023, shows the gallery lost about £1.7 million that year, after posting a profit of roughly £1.4 million in 2022. The documents show the gallery relied on borrowed money from banks to pay its regular bills, meaning it did not have enough cash from sales alone to cover basic expenses.

The report also warned that the gallery’s ability to continue operating depended on banks continuing to provide financing. Auditors reviewing the filing said there was “material uncertainty” over whether the business could keep going if more support was not secured.

Records also show the gallery narrowly avoided being dissolved by the U.K. government in 2025 after falling behind on required filings.

Companies House began a compulsory strike-off process, a step typically taken when a company appears inactive or fails to submit paperwork on time. The action was halted in late February 2025 after the gallery filed its overdue annual report, allowing it to remain active on the register.

Besides Stephen Friedman, public records list Alison Mosheim as having significant control over the gallery. The filing shows Mosheim owns between 25% and 50% of the company and has been listed in that role since 2016.

Her correspondence address is registered through the Pentland Group, a British consumer goods company. The records do not describe her day-to-day role at the gallery.

Stephen Friedman Gallery has long been a fixture of London’s Cork Street and previously operated a space in New York before closing it in 2025. In interviews at the time, Friedman said the New York closure was not driven by finances.

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