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The Devil Wears Rothko
The Devil Wears Rothko: Inside The Art Scandal that Rocked the World | Barry Avrich
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The Devil Wears Rothko charts the explosive demise of Knoedler Gallery, New York’s oldest and most prestigious art galleries with detailed and salacious insight into one of the world’s largest art frauds. From the moment an eccentric woman walked into the Knoedler Gallery with a Mark Rothko painting, everyone was fooled. For the next ten , she—along with a group out of Hollywood central casting—ran a $80 million forgery ring through Knoedler Gallery, selling or consigning forty expertly crafted counterfeits they claimed to be the works of Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko, and others. The acclaimed documentary, Made You Look (2020), attests to the explosive investigative work and storytelling of Avrich. The Devil Wears Rothko utilizes these talents all the more effectively, featuring new information, evidence, and inside stories on how an eccentric art dealer, master forger, and two cunning con artists managed to fool the world of art over a period of ten years. Among these individuals were billionaire art collectors, journalists, and esteemed art appraisers. By the time the house of cards finally fell, the Hammer family owned Knoedler Gallery and a dozen collectors had been conned into buying over $80 million in fake art. As the world continues to be intrigued by this case, The Devil Wears Rothko exposes such an unimaginable cast of characters and villains that even Hollywood would struggle to invent.
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CoffeeK8
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This book is a terrific blend of true crime, scandal and art history. The story of a woman who walked into one of the most famous art galleries in the world and convinced one of the most respected art dealers her forged painting was the real deal. Which lead to an $80 million dollar forgery ring that lasted years and pulled in/tricked many of the best art historians, authenticators and art connoisseurs. (Cont.)

CoffeeK8 The cast of characters was fantastic and the book's organization and research was detailed and clearly outlined. I listened to the audio version of this book, which was expertly narrated by the author, Ben Avrich. He also directed the documentary about this case, "Made You Look". Thank you to #Netgalley and #RBMedia for an Audio ARC of this book. 4w
Christine I don‘t know how I‘ve never heard of this book or story! I‘m a longtime Rothko fan. Great review, I will be listening for sure! 4w
CoffeeK8 @Christine thanks! It was a fun book for sure! 4w
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BookishTrish
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The scandalous demise of one of NY‘s oldest art gallery. I‘m an absolute sucker for art true crime. This one moves fast and tells the story of the gallery more so than the story of a person. The author‘s narration was serviceable and suited the voice of the book. Thanks #netgalley.

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