The 99-year-old museum, also referred to as OMA, was left with a tattered reputation that resulted in its being put on probation by the American Alliance of Museums, the lawsuit said.
“OMA spent hundreds of thousands of dollars — and unwittingly staked its reputation — on exhibiting the now admittedly fake paintings," the lawsuit said. “Consequently, cleaning up the aftermath created by the defendants has cost OMA even more.”
Basquiat, who lived and worked in New York City, found success in the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. The Orlando Museum of Art was the first institution to display the more than two dozen artworks said to have been found in an old storage locker decades after Basquiat’s 1988 death from a drug overdose at age 27.
Questions about the artworks’ authenticity arose almost immediately after their reported discovery in 2012. The artwork was purportedly made in 1982, but experts have pointed out that the cardboard used in at least one of the pieces included FedEx typeface that wasn’t used until 1994, about six years after Basquiat died, according to the federal warrant from the museum raid.
Also, television writer Thad Mumford, the owner of the storage locker where the art was eventually found, told investigators that he had never owned any Basquiat art and that the pieces were not in the unit the last time he had visited. Mumford died in 2018.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Florida art museum sues former director over forged Basquiat paintings schemeA central Florida art museum that was raided last year by the FBI over an exhibit of what turned out to be forged Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings has sued its former executive director and others, claiming they were part of a scheme to profit from the sale of the fake artwork.
Read more »
Art museum sues former director over forged Basquiat paintings schemeA central Florida art museum which was raided last year by the FBI over an exhibit of what turned out to be forged Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings has sued its former executive director and others, claiming they were part of a scheme to profit from the eventual sale of the fake artwork.
Read more »
NYC awards Florida company $20M to provide shower trailers for migrants during ongoing crisisMayor Eric Adams’ administration has awarded $20 million to a Florida-based firm to provide emergency shower trailers for migrants being sheltered in encampments.
Read more »
Rising's clock ticking louder as Rose injury slides Barnes in as presumed starter vs. FloridaAn injury to Brandon Rose late last week has made Bryson Barnes Utah football's presumed opening night starter if Cam Rising cannot play.
Read more »
Despite Reversing AP Psychology Ban, Some Florida Schools Still Won’t Teach ItFlorida students continue to struggle with a board of education more interested in political ideology than academics.
Read more »
Florida teachers are worried new policies could get them fired — or even criminally charged“The reality is that when you start telling people that they can be a criminal for putting books on the shelf, they’re going to start self-banning,” said one teacher.
Read more »