Michael Ovitz Finds Long-Lost Cousin Through Art Purchase
Under a hush of polished galleries, destiny’s brush revealed a secret long buried in family lore. When Hollywood powerhouse Michael Ovitz splashed out on a mysterious oil painting at a Christie’s auction last fall, he imagined acquiring aesthetic prestige—not stumbling upon kin. But the canvas, signed by artist Jacob Adler, held more than pigment: its back bore a tiny family crest matching Ovitz’s ancestral coat of arms. Intrigued by the uncanny emblem, Ovitz commissioned genealogist Sarah Kerrigan to trace Adler’s lineage. What emerged was nothing short of cinematic: Jacob Adler, the 32-year-old Brooklyn-based painter whose work Ovitz paid six figures for, turned out to be Ovitz’s first cousin once removed.
The New York Post first spotlighted this surreal twist in December 2023, detailing how Ovitz—co-founder of Creative Artists Agency—recognizes art as the currency of connection (“NYPost,” Dec. 12). Not content with secondhand whispers, Ovitz then turned to DNA testing via Ancestry.com, confirming a 12.5 percent shared genetic match (Forbes, Jan. 5). “I thought I was buying a beautiful piece,” Ovitz told People Magazine in a rare interview. “Instead, I was rediscovering my own bloodline.”
Throughout his storied career—agent to A-listers and architect of the modern talent agency—Ovitz has navigated deals and destinies. Yet the serendipity of a gallery purchase yielding a familial bond stands apart even from Tinseltown’s most contrived plotlines. Adler’s abstract series, “Bloodlines,” now tours alongside narratives of their unexpected reunion, with gallery-goers as moved by the human story as by the canvas’s swirling blues and golds.
Critics and fans alike are marveling at this convergence of art and ancestry. Could this be a sign that the secrets of heritage lie waiting on gallery walls? Or is it simply a poetic fluke, a reminder that people—and paintings—carry hidden histories? As Ovitz and Adler prepare their first joint exhibit in Los Angeles this spring, whispers in the art world promise more revelations to come.
And thus, the tapestry of family is rewoven, one brushstroke at a time—a bittersweet coda, or perhaps the opening movement of an entirely new saga?
Sources: Celebrity Storm and New York Post, Forbes, People Magazine
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
