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Ralph DeLuca has carved out a rare niche for himself as the go-to art adviser of Hollywood’s A-list. The no-nonsense New Jersey native is on first-name terms with most major gallerists and counts blue-chip celebrity collectors like Sylvester Stallone and Leonardo DiCaprio as clients as well as friends. Other top-tier advisees include Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw. If you’re heading to the Dec. 6-8 Art Basel, keep an eye out for him: He’s the bushy eyebrowed, shaven-headed force of nature squiring boldfaced names to the best booths in the fair. DeLuca, 47, started out on Wall Street before pivoting to collectibles more than 20 years ago. It was legendary dealer Tony Shafrazi who suggested he upgrade to art. DeLuca proved a natural: curious, unflappable and direct. “I don’t have a formal education. I come from nothing. But I have my reputation,” he says. “At the end of the day, we’re collecting stuff, not curing cancer. Art is very important, but we’re not changing the world.” Now based in Las Vegas, he’s one of the key supporters of LACMA’s looming satellite there. But he retains his close connections to Hollywood, earning his clients’ trust by advising them not only on what to buy, but also on how not to get hoodwinked. “With a celebrity art collector,” he says, “they can get totally exploited by an art adviser or dealer — I’ve seen that happen a lot.” Here are his Ten Commandments for any Hollywoodite keen to follow the DeLuca playbook. 1. Rules Are Rules “Just because you’re rich and famous doesn’t mean the rules of the art world don’t apply to you,” DeLuca says. Many Hollywood A-listers, he says, “don’t understand why, if they can call and get a private jet to Bora Bora from the chairman of the airline in a minute, they can’t buy work from a 24-year-old artist who’s two years out of school and painting with his feet.” Even household names need to earn the respect of a gallerist or dealer and put in face time at their booths or shopfronts. If you expect to simply snap up whatever you want, when you want it, expect to become familiar with the phrase “We’re taking indications of interest.” “You have to manage a client’s expectations and help them understand that a lot of people are asking for the same works, and galleries don’t place them right away. The more involved you are, the better access you get,” he says. “I’m only as good as my worst-behaving client. For me to make the phone call, I’d have to vet that client and school them in the rules for a while.” A strong gallery relationship, of course, unlocks better access to emerging work fresh from the artist’s studio, at which stage pricing will likely be much more favorable. “I am very selective when buying emerging work, which I buy for myself and my clients only in the primary market,” he says, referring to artworks that are being sold for the first time. “It’s important for collectors to care about and support young artists and galleries but with the proviso that they do their research — or hire someone.” 2. Use Your Fame Wisely Patronage today involves deploying your own renown to help burnish the reputation of whoever you collect. The more you’re willing to say you own a work, or post a picture of it on social media, the better access you’ll get. “Sylvester Stallone is the perfect example of this,” says DeLuca. “He loves to get the artist on the phone, and he’s Instagrammed studio visits and things he’s bought and loved. He has a huge social media following, and it trickles down. It’s good for the ecosystem.” Galleries and artists cozy up to celebrities and tech barons for much the same reason. “They have these amazing parties, their homes get photographed — everyone from the Dalai Lama down has been to Leo DiCaprio’s house. It’s better that a painting is on their wall as opposed to a museum in Miami or Wisconsin.” 3. Buy on Instinct, Not on an Interior Designer’s Say-So Don’t fret over where a piece might be installed or if it matches the decor: “A real collector never worries about wall space. You can move stuff out when your tastes change.” 4. Stay Loyal Sure, assess a few advisers up front and see whose style and taste best fit your own, but once you choose one, don’t diversify. “Do not ask 40 people to chase after the same thing for you,” warns DeLuca. “It creates fake demand and makes you look like a trophy hunter and a flipper.” 5. See Art for Yourself ... “Go and see as much art in person as you can,” says DeLuca. “We’ve gotten complacent, and lazy, because we can buy on our phone or by FaceTiming the dealer. That’s a mistake, and it backfires. You need to understand the texture, the tonality, the tactileness of a work in person.” 6. ... but Approach Art Fairs With Caution “Celebrities get accosted at art fairs. People come up and ask for autographs, and you might just be standing there looking at something, a Warhol or whatever, and it gets out that you bought the painting,” he says, citing unauthorized shots from Art Basel Miami Beach that showed DeLuca with client DiCaprio last year. “You’re surrounded by 50,000 douchebags who want to go look at art and take selfies in front of a Twombly.” The rare exception: Art Basel’s OG fair in Switzerland. “It’s different and much more about the art. But celebrities have crazy schedules and don’t all have the time to go to Europe for a fair like that.” 7. Beware the BOGO The new gimmick whereby a gallerist will offer to sell a certain artwork as long as the buyer snaps up another one on behalf of a museum or institution is an unwelcome development, says DeLuca. Such practices, he notes, amount to creative blackmail by “force-feeding a museum to take a donation so the gallerist can tell the artist they got them into one. It’s not creating stewardship or patronage.” The exception: if a blue-chip institution asks for help acquiring a specific artwork. “Say Michael Govan at LACMA calls me up and says, ‘We want XYZ painting and we’re X dollars short.’ I would be happy to approach a client and work with the gallery.” 8. Resist the FOMO An adviser’s job is often to tell clients what to buy. DeLuca recalls walking around an art fair with a well-known, wealthy collector and discouraging him from buying almost everything he considered. “He had FOMO running around the art fair, so excited, like a kid in a candy store, because everyone was talking about needing to own this or that. In six months’ time, he would have said, ‘Why did I buy this?’ Keep your ears open, but don’t buy with them. Buy with your eyes and the opinion of your adviser.” It’s much harder to offload an artwork than a more fungible investment. “Going back to the gallery is a difficult conversation, because art is hard to buy and hard to sell. It’s not liquid like stocks.” Case in point: DeLuca has been working with a new client for more than six months — and has not yet transacted a single piece. The fact that so many folks were listening rather than looking is one major reason for the current slump in the secondary market for emerging art, he adds: “A lot of collectors were focusing too much on the social aspects of art collecting.” 9. Collecting Is Personal Ask an adviser about their own collection — but not to check their taste. “This is one business where you get high on your own supply,” says DeLuca. “It’s easy to spend other people’s money, but it’s important that the art adviser collects themselves.” It’s a lesson DeLuca learned from his mentor, storied adviser Todd Levin. Advisers may not have pockets as deep as those of A-list celebrities, of course, but they should be participating in the art economy, and at a similar percentage as they’d expect their clients to take. 10. Art’s a Business, Too “If you suggest money doesn’t play into this at all, you’re really blowing smoke up your own ass,” he scoffs. “[Art] is an asset class, and when it appreciates, you’re happy.” One sector DeLuca is watching closely on this front: Indigenous and Native American artists, where he’s seeing a surge in interest and support. But it’s important not to lose sight of art’s intrinsic worth. DeLuca often tells clients to ask themselves a difficult question: “Do I love this enough to want to live with it in perpetuity even if it does not increase — or even decreases — in dollar value over time?” . THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day More from The Hollywood Reporter

AP Sports SummaryBrief at 6:16 p.m. ESTArdagh Glass Packaging pioneers hydrogen energy mix from onsite electrolyser (AGP-Europe), an operating business of Ardagh Group, announced today that it is now producing green hydrogen for glass melting via a hydrogen electrolyser at its facility in Limmared, Sweden. The 5MW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) hydrogen electrolyser uses renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, supplying hydrogen to the energy mix in the furnace. Since testing of the electrolyser began in October, the furnace has successfully combusted 109,000m of hydrogen produced on site, saving 70 tonnes of CO . Daniel Johansson, Project Manager, AGP-Europe explained: “The testing phase using the hydrogen energy mix is progressing well, with no impact on the quality of the glass or the furnace. Our target is to replace 20% of the natural gas in the furnace with green hydrogen, which will reduce carbon emissions from our glass packaging produced in Limmared.” This partly hydrogen-fired glass furnace follows the launch of AGP’s flagship NextGen Furnace in Obernkirchen, Germany, where 60% electrical heating has already been achieved, delivering a 64%* reduction in carbon emissions. AGP-Europe CEO added: The future combination of hydrogen and other sustainable technologies such as hybrid melting, will help Ardagh Group and our customers to achieve their emissions reduction targets, as well as advancing the decarbonisation of the glass industry.” READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Ardagh Glass Packaging pioneers hydrogen energy mix from onsite electrolyser, CSIRO electrolyser pilot demonstrates efficiency and durability at Bluescope Steel Plant CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has successfully trialled its game-changing hydrogen production technology at... Jakson Green INFINITY Ships First Electrolyser to Power India’s Largest Urban Mobility Refueling Station Jakson Green Infinity has shipped 3.8 MW electrolysers, to power India’s inaugural green hydrogen refueling... XINTC – A groundbreaking Dutch electrolyser design is now poised for global deployment On Monday, 9 December 2024, the Minister for Climate and Sustainable Growth, Mrs. Sophie Hermans, will officially open the H2...

Is D.J. Moore playing this week? Injury update, fantasy outlook for Bears' WR ahead of Week 14 vs. 49ers | Sporting NewsThe Harvest Christian Academy Eagles’ Paul Ray spared his first two frames, then rolled 10 consecutive strikes to set a new high school single-game record on Thursday at Central Lanes Bowling Center in Tamuning. Although the Guam Bowling High School League is just underway, Ray, who rolled a 279, has emerged as one of the league’s top bowlers. Despite Ray’s record-setting performance, the Eagles couldn’t clinch the win as the Okkodo High School Bulldogs upset the previously undefeated Eagles. (Daily Post Staff)Veteran Glasgow Labour councillor has died at the age of 72. Bailie Scanlon served constituents in the for over two decades and will be remembered for his 'relentless fight against poverty' and advocacy for the communities he served. Labour Group said it was 'deeply saddened' to announce the news. In a statement they wrote: "Bailie Scanlon's unwavering dedication to the Southside Central ward was evident in his relentless fight against poverty, his advocacy for better housing, and his steadfast determination to create safer and stronger communities. "For decades, Bailie Scanlon worked tirelessly for the people of Southside Central, earning the deep respect and admiration of all those who had the privilege of working with him. His years of public service will not be forgotten, and his absence will be keenly felt across our communities. "Bailie Scanlon's commitment and passion resonated profoundly, and he leaves behind a legacy of service that will continue to inspire our efforts as we strive to build a fairer and more just society. "He will be deeply missed by all who knew him, and his memory will live on in the work we do." Tributes have flooded in from colleagues for the 'loving family man'. Cllr George Redmond, Leader of the Glasgow Labour Group, said: "This is deeply sad and devastating news for Jim's family, and my thoughts are with his wife, Frances, and all his loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. I have known Jim for nearly 25 years, and his untimely passing has come as a shock to us all. "Jim was a passionate and dedicated public servant, and his heart was always with the people of Toryglen and the Gorbals. For over 20 years, he gave everything to those communities, always putting others before himself and working tirelessly to improve the lives of those he served. "Glasgow has lost a truly devoted servant, and his commitment to his community will never be forgotten. His absence will leave a void in all of our hearts, and he will be sorely missed by everyone who had the privilege to work alongside him." Cllr Soryia Siddique, Deputy Leader of the Glasgow Labour Group and Southside Central ward colleague, said: "I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our colleague Bailie James Scanlon. Jim was a devoted public servant who spent decades working for the people of Southside Central. "He was a hard-working ward colleague, always supportive and dedicated to improving the lives of those he served. Beyond his work as a councillor, Jim was a loving family man and a tireless advocate for social justice. "His loss is felt not just within the ward but across the city. My thoughts and prayers are with Jim’s wife, Frances, and all his family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time." Councillor Jill Pidgeon said: "Very sad news earlier on today. Jim Scanlon was a wise head, a great colleague and a true community champion. He will be sadly missed."

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