Marian Goodman, aged 86, has been operating at the pinnacle of the art industry for over half a century. As a gallerist, she was one of the first to introduce key European artists such as Gerhard Richter, Joseph Beuys and Marcel Broodthaers to American audiences and has represented some of the biggest names in the business, including Anselm Kiefer, the sculptor Richard Deacon and the video artist and Oscar-winning film director Steve McQueen.

The native New Yorker is now entering the London art scene and her new gallery has been greeted with a frisson of anticipation. The Marian Goodman Gallery opens this week with an exhibition of Richter works in London's Soho, just off Golden Square.