Her great-uncle was Jackson Pollock. Now her fledgling gallery, Argo Fine Arts, is the talk of Paris

It's not every day a brand new gallery shows up at an art fair with a Jackson Pollock and a Cy Twombly for sale. But Samantha McCoy, who recently founded the Paris and New York-based gallery Argo Fine Arts, is no newcomer to the art world: Jackson Pollock was her great-uncle and her father, Jason McCoy, owned a gallery on 57th Street for more than 40 years.

'There was never a difference between work and home,' she says. 'There were always gallery dinners at at the house. There were always artists over. There were always critics. I didn't know anything else.'

This week, Argo marks its debut exhibition at the 28th edition of Art Paris, an international modern and contemporary fair set in the glorious Grand Palais.

It's been a long journey. At first, McCoy tried to carve out a different career from her family's, so studied industrial labor relations along with art history at Cornell. After university, she moved to Paris, and returned to New York two years later to work in fashion. When her father's gallery needed an extra hand, she joined him for nearly five years, until Magnum Photos hired her, which led her back to Paris. But, McCoy says, 'There was always this feeling deep down that I wanted to try working for myself.'

In the autumn of 2025 she took the leap. She named her gallery Argo after the ship upon which Jason sails in Greek mythology. For the logo, she used calligraphy designed in 1949 by another family artist, her great uncle Charles Pollock.

Declining outside investment, she opted for an 'ephemeral' gallery model. 'I tried to be realistic about what my life was and what the art world looked like, with all of these really important galleries closing,' McCoy recalls. 'I thought, I need to be true to myself; I'm between New York and Paris, and I can't afford to open a space in two places right now. Rather than real estate, I'm going to prioritise my artists and clients and collectors. I'll find a way to make that work.'

At Art Paris, McCoy is mounting a solo presentation of German artist Christiane Löhr, with a second space showcasing other artists. 'Art Paris doesn't hesitate to promote new talents long before they're recognised, or to help advance the new generation of Paris gallerists,' says the fair's director, Guillaume Piens. 'The decision of Argo Fine Arts to devote a solo show to an important figure of the German scene, who is not well known in France, won the overwhelming approval of our selection committee.'

Löhr has earned international recognition for delicate minimalist sculptures made from natural materials such as grass stalks and dandelion seeds, and organic black-and-white line drawings. One of the first pieces McCoy ever purchased was a Löhr drawing, when her father represented the artist years ago. At Art Paris, she is showing a mix of Löhr's sculptures and drawings, in dialogue with a series of Cy Twombly prints of Latin poets' names. 'Twombly has created his own visual language,' she explains, 'hearkening back to the line.'

Linear markings also characterise several works by Charles Pollock, displayed in the second space, near camera obscura photographs by the British artist Richard Learoyd (who, like Löhr, is little-known in France). A rare, early figurative landscape by Jackson Pollock comes from a private collection with 'impeccable provenance.'

Opening an art gallery is not easy, no matter who you are. It took McCoy years before finally accepting it's the right path for her. 'It's an important part of my heritage,' she says. 'I spent a lot of my youth trying to turn away from it, and proving I was worthy. The reality is, I am who I am because of my background. And I think I've built my career to a point where I don't have anything to prove anymore.'

Art Paris runs 9-12 April at the Grand Palais