A new book about the notorious Knoedler Gallery forgery scandal has been released by filmmaker Barry Avrich, who previously directed the 2020 documentary "Made You Look" about the same subject. "The Devil Wears Rothko: Inside the Art Scandal that Rocked the World" represents an unusual reverse approach, as Avrich wrote the book after completing his film about the $80 million fraud that destroyed New York's prestigious Knoedler Gallery and severely damaged the art world's reputation.
The scandal remains one of the world's largest art frauds, successfully deceiving numerous high-profile experts, famous collectors, and even a museum. Avrich explains in his preface that making the film was "one of the greatest thrills of my life, as everyone involved was totally committed to telling their side of the story, and perhaps engage in an often humorous and puzzling form of revisionism." He decided to write the book because "it is the story that keeps on giving, with new facts and characters surfacing."
At the center of the scandal were key figures including Knoedler director Ann Freedman and collector David Mirvish, both of whom Avrich describes as "victims/conspirators" with significant question marks about their true roles. The book's foreword is written by Domenico De Sole, himself a collector and victim of the fraud, who calls it "the definitive book about the Knoedler Gallery story."
The fraud unfolded over 14 years when a previously unknown dealer named Glafira Rosales supplied Knoedler with 40 expertly crafted counterfeits, including works supposedly by Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko. These fake masterpieces saved the gallery from almost certain bankruptcy and greatly enriched its owner Michael Hammer. According to court papers, Hammer routinely charged the gallery for personal expenses, including trips to Paris with his then-wife and several cars, including a $482,000 Rolls-Royce.
While Avrich claims the book reveals new elements, the author himself acknowledges limitations in the early chapters. He includes general information about the art market, sometimes presented in bullet-point format, and even suggests readers can "skip the early chapters that set the table for the crime that unfolds" to reach the more compelling content. The writing style has been criticized as sloppy, with bulleted lists of transactions from Knoedler's glory days and references to various forgers ranging from the famous Han van Meegeren to the obscure Eric Spoutz.
The book's later chapters focus heavily on the court case involving Domenico and Eleanor De Sole's Rothko painting. Although former gallery director Ann Freedman had proclaimed she was looking forward to "her day in court," the case settled at the last minute, preventing the jury from hearing her testimony. However, Freedman did cooperate extensively with Avrich's research, spending months talking with him while consuming "bottle after bottle of expensive wine" as he convinced her to participate in his film.
Freedman provided Avrich with no fewer than 55 tote bags filled with photocopied newspaper articles about people who were victims of massive art cons. She has consistently maintained that she was deceived just as much as the other victims. Notably, Freedman was never charged with any crime, though Avrich appears unconvinced of her complete innocence. His film suggested that even Rosales was a victim of a scheming ex-boyfriend who was the real mastermind behind the scam, making her the only person to serve jail time in the entire affair.
Despite criticism of the book's writing quality and organization, including careless statements like describing Armand Hammer's legacy of buying and selling "priceless" art (which the reviewer notes cannot logically be bought and sold), the work does provide substantial detail about the Knoedler fakes. The book also contains some puzzling references, including mentions of "paintings in the barn" and "undisclosed assets" that Freedman allegedly cited in connection with the $25 billion Barnes Collection of art that toured internationally in the 1990s to help a cash-strapped foundation.
Published by Post Hill Press in June, the 240-page hardcover book is priced at $30. Despite its flaws in writing and organization, collector Domenico De Sole's assessment may prove accurate – it could indeed become the definitive account of one of this century's major art scandals, offering comprehensive coverage of a fraud that continues to fascinate and horrify the art world.
