FBI Raided Orlando Museum of Art

Cultural Heritage Can be Faked: Jean-Michel Basquiat forgeries

Untitled (Skull) -1981

This Substack looks at the annihilation of memory by censorship, disasters, and sometimes theft or forgery. The recent FBI raid on the Orlando Museum of Art seizing all 25 paintings in its exhibition, Heroes & Monsters: Jean-Michel Basquiat, was based on concern that they were forgeries.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) initially part of the graffiti duo SAMO, (with Al Diaz) was a prolific artist. He produced around 1,500 drawings, around 600 paintings, and many sculpture and mixed media works.¹

Art critics have compared Basquiat's work to hip-hop during the same era. "Basquiat's art—like the best hip-hop—takes apart and reassembles the work that came before it."²

After his death at 27 in 1988 the value of Basquiat's art has soared. In 2021 Versus Medici, sold for $50.8 million at Sotheby's. In This Case, a skull painting, sold for $93.1 million.³

There has been fraud connected to Basquiat’s work. In 2002, New York Alfredo Martinez was charged by the FBI for attempting to deceive two art dealers by selling them $185,000 worth of fake Basquiat drawings.⁴

Orlando Museum of Art-Forgeries Seized

In April 2023, Los Angeles based auctioneer Michael Barzman confessed to playing a major role in producing dozens of fake Jean-Michel Basquiat works,⁵ many of which were displayed in a 2022 exhibition at the Orlando Museum of Art: “Heroes & Monsters.”⁶ Barzman and a partner, "J.F." initially claimed the paintings were found in a storage locker. The U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California press release⁷ states:

“J.F. spent a maximum of 30 minutes on each image and as little as five minutes on others, and then gave them to [Barzman] to sell on eBay,” according to the plea agreement. “[Barzman] and J.F. agreed to split the money that they made from selling the Fraudulent Paintings. J.F. and [Barzman] created approximately 20-30 artworks by using various art materials to create colorful images on cardboard.”

In June 2022 the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) raided Florida’s Orlando Museum of Art, seizing all 25 paintings in its exhibition Heroes & Monsters: Jean-Michel Basquiat, the Thaddeus Mumford, Jr. Venice Collection.. That raid closed the exhibition, and now the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has put the museum on probation, threatening the institution’s accreditation.

After the raid, the Orlando museum’s director and chief executive, Aaron De Groft, was fired by the board of trustees and the chairwoman of the board, was forced out of her role in December 2022, all a result of the Basquiat fiasco, which brought its practices into question.⁸

1. Gregory, Alice (August 2015). "New Art.." Harper's Magazine.

2. Sirmans, Franklin. (2005) In the Cipher: Basquiat and Hip-Hop Culture from the book Basquiat. Mayer, Marc (ed.). Merrell Publishers in association with the Brooklyn Museum, pp. 91–105.

3. Sarah Osei. WHY ARE BASQUIAT PAINTINGS WORTH SO MUCH? High Snobiety 2021.

4. Artdaily. "Basquiat Forger Arrested By FBI". artdaily.cc.

5. Christopher Parker (April 12, 2023). California Man Admits to Helping Create Fake Basquiat Paintings. Smithsonian Magazine.

6. Rebecca Schiffman. The Crazy Story of Fake Basquiats in Orlando. Art & Object. (April 21, 2023).

7. U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California. April 11, 2023. NoHo Man Admits Lying to FBI about His Role in Creating Fake Basquiat Paintings Seized Last Summer from Florida Museum.

8. Daniel Grant. Following Basquiat forgery scandal, Orlando Museum of Art placed on probation by US museums group The Art Newspaper. 24 January 2023.