Pace Gallery, Emmanuel Di Donna of Di Donna Galleries, and Sotheby’s executive vice president and chairman of global private sales, David Schrader, have announced the formation of a new secondary-market gallery. Their new venture, Pace Di Donna Schrader Galleries (PDS), will begin operating in spring 2026 and open its headquarters in New York’s Upper East Side in the summer.
Described in a press release as a “boutique gallery that will operate on a global scale,” PDS will bring together three heavyweights of the blue-chip art market. The three parties will be “equal partners” in the business, and will “work collaboratively on all areas of the venture,” the release noted.
Pace Gallery, one of the largest commercial galleries in the world, has a global footprint which includes galleries in Los Angeles, London, Seoul, Tokyo and its headquarters in New York. The gallery today represents more than 80 leading artists and estates, including Alexander Calder, Agnes Martin, and Mark Rothko.
Di Donna, a former vice chairman at Sotheby’s, opened his eponymous blue-chip gallery in 2010. The dealer specializes in exhibitions and private sales of European and American modern and contemporary art from 1900 to 1970, with a notable emphasis on Surrealism.
Schrader, meanwhile, has led private sales at Sotheby’s for a decade, working closely with its leading clients around the world. In 2024, the auction house reported that its private sales increased by 14% year-over-year to $1.4 billion, despite a decline in overall sales and auction sales.
PDS will offer a suite of advisory and collection management services, including acquisition and sales, auction negotiation, exhibition and collection building, as well as client advisory and financial services. It will mount what it calls a “major historical exhibition” in fall 2026.
The move comes after a blockbuster week of blue-chip auctions in New York, where more than $2.2 billion worth of art was sold. The week affirmed the strength of demand for top-end modern and post-war works. In the press release, Schrader noted that “private sales now represent more than half of all blue-chip transactions.”
“Our new venture is a strategic and structural response to a market that has outgrown its old architecture,” Schrader continued. “PDS brings together the qualities that matter most to collectors— connoisseurship, discerning judgment, disciplined execution, and a thoughtful long-term approach to building collections.”
While the precise shape of the gallery remains to be seen, the combination of Pace Gallery’s global infrastructure and deep roster, Di Donna’s curatorial expertise, and Schrader’s experience in high-level private transactions could yield a mega-gallery alternative to auction houses, offering bespoke services and a global network for consignment and sales.
“I am so excited about this new partnership with Emmanuel and David, whose incredible talents and deep experience have set a standard for excellence while transforming the landscape of the art world,” said Pace Gallery founder Arne Glimcher in a statement.
“We all see PDS as a venture that will transform how galleries serve consigners and collectors, bringing the growth of the secondary market to new heights, while stewarding the legacy of the great art we have the privilege to work with,” Glimcher added.
