“There are a number of cases that are not even public that are going on right now,” said Gary Castle, a partner at accounting firm Anchin Block & Anchin in New York, who works with collectors, galleries and art foundations. “We are seeing notices and inquiries about specific transactions. We’ve seen them over the past year.”

The Attorney General’s office declined to comment on the breadth of its investigation but said it was determined to recover unpaid taxes wherever it can find evidence of abuse.

"We are committed to rooting out tax abuses wherever we find them, especially in the art world, where the difference can be hundreds of thousands -- if not millions -- of dollars in lost tax revenue,” Schneiderman said. “Law-abiding New Yorkers should not be stuck footing the bill for those who fail to pay their fair share.”

The settlements announced Tuesday both involve misuse of a provision of New York tax law that does not require sales or use tax on art work that is intended for resale.

The Attorney General said Rosen used two companies to buy and commission more than $80 million in artwork that he said wasn’t subject to tax because it was intended for resale. In fact, Schneiderman said, Rosen used the art pieces as if they were his personal possessions, displaying some like in his home and using others to enhance his business.

Glass Lobby

Rosen is the co-founder of RFR Holding LLC, a real estate company that displays fine art throughout a portfolio that includes the W South Beach Hotel in Florida and the Gramercy Park Hotel, according to its website. The glass lobby of the firm’s Lever House serves as a contemporary gallery and has displayed works by Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and other artists, according to the building’s website.

Among the 200 pieces Rosen agreed to pay taxes on are Andy Warhol’s “ Howdy Doody,” which he bought for $866,500 in 2011; Roy Lichtenstein’s “Sock,” which he purchased for $5.25 million in 2011; and a Damien Hirst sculpture, "Virgin Mother," for which he paid $2.5 million.

Rosen said all the artwork he buys and shows at his properties is for sale.

“The law is behind on how art gets shown and distributed,” Rosen said in an interview. “The lobby is my gallery. The hotel is my gallery. I like transactions.”