One of the most outrageous art fraud cases of the 21st century has finally been closed!
I first heard of the Knoedler case during my Art Law class at Sotheby's Institute in London. The professor dedicated a few slides explaining the scandal and its significance in the art world at the time. The case stuck with me because of how much it shook the art world. Its significance was so large that lawsuits started in 2011 and have only been resolved this year!
Knoedler Gallery was an art dealership in New York City, and one of the oldest commercial art galleries founded in 1846. It became a leading supplier of Old Master paintings to the robber barons of the 19th century, with clients such as J. P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Henry Clay Frick.
Between 1984 and 2008, under Freedman's directorship, Glafira Rosales, a Long Island art dealer, conducted an $80 million forgery ring with Pei-Shen Qian, a Queen’s based Chinese painter, through Knoedler. The sale consisted of 40 cleverly forged paintings of leading Abstract Expressionists, including Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Williem de Kooning.
This was the first painting Rosales brought to Knoedler. She claimed it was owned by an old family friend, who wanted to remain anonymous.
Many people believe that the lack of a clear history of ownership (provenance) should have caused Knoedler staff to question the authenticity of the painting.
However, Knoedler and Freedman claim that they relied on positive opinions from experts in the field.
Scientific analysis didn't determine any old pigment in this painting, but the signature was toned with a yellow color, probably in an attempt to make it appear older than it was.
Rosales pled guilty in 2013 to charges of fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. In 2017 she served 3 months in jail, 90 days in home detention and 3 years of supervised release. She was finally able to pay for her restitution. The other co-conspirators had fled the country, causing uncertainty about their extradition.
The tenth and final federal lawsuit against Knoedler had been filed in 2013 by a Lichtenstein-based Hiti Family Trust, who acquired a $5.5 million forged Rothko from Knoedler in 2002.
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