Louise Blouin Media is an art magazine, website and book publishing company which was founded in 2001 by Louise Blouin MacBain and is under the parent company LTB Holding.[1] Louise Blouin Media's titles include Art+Auction, Gallery Guide, and Modern Painters magazines. ARTINFO (www.artinfo.com) is the online destination of Louise Blouin Media and was launched in 2005.[2] [3]Louise Blouin launched MYARTINFO in 2007 as a social networking site for artists. Louise Blouin Media also owns Somogy, the global art book publisher, and publishes art price guides from Art Sales Index, Gordon’s and Davenport’s.
Art+Auction is Louise Blouin Media's most popular magazine. It was acquired from LVMH and includes articles about artists, galleries, auctions, and exhibitions. The company acquired Modern Painters from its owner Karen Wright, who acquired it following the death of its founder, British art critic Peter Fuller, in 1990. Culture+Travel went into circulation in September 2006, covering international aspects of culture including everything from art and food to hotels and architecture. In October 2008, the print magazine was replaced by a dedicated section of artinfo.com.
Well-known former executives and contributors at Louise Blouin Media include founding President, Ben Crawford, who consolidated the acquired businesses into a single company, European Editorial Director Meredith Etherington-Smith, former Conde Nast editorial director James Truman, who was made CEO and resigned in 2006. [4]
The mission of the company is to provide access to the world of art and culture.[5] The company is based in New York City after moving from London.
In December, 2011, Louise Blouin Media was sued for defamation in United States district Court for a September 16, 2011 article written by Noah Charney on Artinfo.com in which Charney stated a forensic art expert "was part of a family of art forgers, and that he had been planting the forensic evidence into the questionable works himself."[6]