Larry Gagosian Bought a Bookstore

The art dealer seems to think there is too much children’s stuff at BookHampton, his newest acquisition.

- Brock Colyar

At Book Hampton in East Hampton at 3 p.m. on a Sunday.

I GET A BIGGER discount now, right?” says Larry Gagosian, standing in the middle of BookHampton, a cozy, sun-washed bookstore bustling with well-groomed, Loro Piana-wearing customers—and, on this Sunday, more than a few unruly toddlers. The art dealer is tiptoeing around the shop in On Clouds, surveying it as most people might a gallery—walking slowly and methodically and occasionally stopping to opine on whatever's in front of him. “It’s in pretty good condition, not too beat up,” he says, admiring the tall windows.