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New York’s Canada Gallery narrowly avoided closure after a French backer filed two lawsuits against its founders, seeking to dissolve the business. A New York court rejected that motion, allowing the gallery to remain open. However, the legal battle left a lasting mark. Since the suits were filed, three partners and five artists have departed from the gallery.
A Backer’s Legal Challenge
Jean Lignel, a French collector, music producer, and entrepreneur, filed both lawsuits in February 2025 with the New York County Supreme Court. His involvement with Canada dated back to 2008, when the global financial crisis was devastating the art market. At that time, Canada founders Sarah Braman, Suzanne Butler, Phil Grauer, and Wallace Whitney agreed to bring Lignel on as a financial backer. According to a 2008 agreement submitted alongside the lawsuits, Lignel paid $150,000 in exchange for a 50 percent ownership stake in the gallery.
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One lawsuit sought the full dissolution of Canada. The other alleged that the gallery’s partners had improperly withdrawn more than $3 million between 2009 and 2023, in violation of their operating agreement. The founders denied those allegations in a counterclaim, arguing that Lignel had always known they received compensation for their services. They also noted that their pay was well below market rate, pointing out that comparable New York gallery partners typically earn between $350,000 and $395,000 per year.
In May 2025, a judge quickly denied the motion to dissolve Canada. The judge ruled that Lignel had failed to prove the gallery could not operate under the terms of the agreement he had signed. Furthermore, the judge noted that Lignel himself acknowledged the gallery had recently hired additional managers who were not LLC members, which demonstrated that Canada remained a functioning business. The founders’ counterclaim against Lignel was later discontinued. Although both lawsuits went through a series of appeals, neither appears to be currently active.
Gallery Responds to the Dispute
A lawyer representing the Canada founders addressed the situation in a statement to ARTnews. “CANADA’s four founding members—Phil Grauer, Sarah Braman, Wallace Whitney and Suzy Butler—were deeply disappointed that Mr. Lignel, their Paris-based business partner, did not support the Gallery as it expanded its operations, including during a challenging period in the art market, and subsequently sought its dissolution through litigation,” the lawyer said. “However, as the Court’s decision confirmed, the Gallery remains fully operational and continues its artist-run, community-focused programming and mission.”
The statement also expressed hope for future cooperation. “While CANADA regrets that the members’ dispute involved court intervention, the Gallery remains hopeful that it can work collaboratively with Mr. Lignel in the future.” A lawyer for Lignel did not respond to a request for comment.
According to a 2016 profile, Lignel put his West Village home on the market that year for $14.5 million. His art collection includes works by Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Ida Applebroog. His connection to Canada had not previously been reported publicly.
Partners and Artists Depart
While the Canada gallery lawsuits were pending, the gallery quietly scaled back its operations. A comparison of Canada’s current website and an archived version from October 2025 reveals that at least two partners have since left. Suzanne Butler, one of the gallery’s founders and a defendant in the lawsuits, no longer appears on the staff page. Tif Sigfrids, who joined Canada as a partner after closing her Athens, Georgia gallery in 2024, also departed. Sigfrids declined to comment, and ARTnews was unable to reach Butler.
A third partner also left before Butler and Sigfrids. Christiana Ine-Kimba Boyle joined Canada as a partner and co-owner in late 2024, having previously served as senior director at Pace Gallery. After just two and a half months in the role, she launched her own itinerant gallery, Gladwell Projects, in March 2025. That venture has since staged exhibitions in Harlem, Jersey City, and Paris. Boyle declined to comment.
In addition, five artists have left Canada’s roster since the lawsuits were filed: Matt Connors, Jess Fuller, Daniel Hesidence, Robert Janitz, and Joan Snyder. Snyder, who joined Luhring Augustine’s roster last week and is also now represented by Thaddaeus Ropac, said she had been unaware of the lawsuits. In an email to ARTnews, she described her departure as having taken place “under amicable circumstances” and noted that her two shows at Canada had been “successful.” Meanwhile, the gallery has added at least one new artist. Kahlil Robert Irving joined Canada’s roster in December 2024.
Gallery Continues to Operate
Canada first opened in 1999 and currently operates out of 60 Lispenard Street in Tribeca, a location it moved to in 2019. Its roster includes artists such as Joe Bradley, Katherine Bernhardt, Katherine Bradford, Samara Golden, and Rachel Eulena Williams. Exhibitions by Scott and Tyson Reeder recently closed at the space.
For a time, the gallery also ran an annex space across the street. However, in August 2025, after Lignel’s lawsuits were filed, Canada subleased that annex to dealer Max Levai, who has since relocated his gallery to Chelsea. “We couldn’t afford to keep both of the spaces,” founder Wallace Whitney told Artnet News at the time. “And now, like many galleries, we are buckling down for a long haul. We want to stick around as long as possible.”
