Read This, Not That

Ostensibly A Motherwell

In recent months, the art world has been rocked by a forgery and fraud scandal involving millions of dollars, some of the 20th century’s most prominent artists, and one of the (formerly) most prestigious galleries in the world. For the New York Times, Patricia Cohen outlines what’s known about the scandal and, perhaps more notably, what isn’t.

Few cases in recent years have roiled the art market as much as this mystery of how an obscure art merchant could have discovered an astonishing number of unknown treasures by the titans of Abstract Expressionism. Each explanation carries its own burden of implausibility.

If they are real, why do some contain pigments that had not been invented at the listed time of their creation?

If they are fakes, who are these preternaturally talented forgers who have been able to confound experts?

And if they are real but stolen, why haven’t their owners come forward to claim them now that the story is public?

Read the full article here.