NEW YORK.- Richard Gray, an art dealer with galleries in New York and Chicago, has reflected on an art world phenomenon that he has seen with increasing frequency: the association of the newly rich with the burgeoning number of people who have gone into business as art advisers. "There’s a lot of new money out there with no knowledge and sophistication, and the first person who gets these people’s ear becomes their adviser, whether it be the woman next door or a friend of their wife’s," he said. "I’m not at all critical of it. Some do a good job, but a high percentage don’t have experience, and they can make mistakes." The field had been largely invisible outside the art world until a couple of weeks ago, when L. Dennis Kozlowski, the former chairman and chief executive of Tyco International, was indicted on charges of evading New York sales tax on the purchase of $13.1 million worth of paintings and sculptures, which he bought with the help of Christine A. Berry. Prosecutors say they are continuing the investigation of expensive purchases in which sales taxes have not been paid, perhaps casting a harsher light on the practices of art dealers and advisers. Ms. Berry is the art director of Fine Collections Management, a 10-employee company with offices in New York and Palm Beach, Florida, which advises the wealthy on purchases of art and wine. Although she has a master’s degree in art history and had worked for two museums, in one as an assistant curator and in the other an assistant registrar, when her name surfaced after Mr. Kozlowski’s indictment, few auction house experts recognized her, and only a handful of dealers knew who she was.

But gallery owners report Ms. Berry’s anonymity is not unusual these days. "We’re seeing more people we’ve never seen or heard of before coming into the gallery who call themselves art advisers," said Rachel Mauro, president of Dickinson Roundell, an art gallery with locations in New York and London. "And they’re not just from New York but from all over the country. Some turn out to be respectable, others come in once, and we never hear from them again." Since the field is unlicensed, and no regulatory agency monitors transactions, it is impossible to say how many art advisers are in operation. All it takes to set up shop is a business card and at least one client with a substantial bank account. The purchases can run into the millions of dollars, and generally it is the adviser not the client who is the buyer of record. Art advisers have been around for decades. Some are well known in the profession, having spent years working at museums, auction houses or galleries before going into business for themselves. Others have taken an art history class or two, maybe, and have happened on one or two rich people seeking to buy art that has "wall power": paintings that look as if they are important and expensive, whether they are or not. As a rule, a serious adviser given the task of putting together an art collection is paid 10 percent to 20 percent of a client’s annual budget as compensation, said Mark Fletcher, a Manhattan adviser. In addition to recommending and executing purchases, the advisers provide services like record keeping, negotiating museum loans and detail-oriented tasks like organizing transportation and insurance.