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Mark Rothko

Artist Revealed Behind Masterfully Faked Pollocks, Koonings, Rothkos

Keith Girard
Pei-Shen Qian, described as a struggling Chinese artist, is the master forger behind one of the biggest scams to sweep the New York City art scene in years, involving more than 80 bogus paintings by modern masters. Alleged works by Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko and Robert Motherwell, were actually painted by the 73-year-old immigrant artist in the garage of his Queens home. Few details about the investigation are known. What is known is mostly contained in a new grand jury indictment of alleged scam mastermind Glafira Rosales, 57. She was arraigned today (Aug 19) in federal court in Manhattan....
ArtCRIME
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Eugene Delacroix Defaced Liberty Raises Security Issues Anew

Keith Girard
Eugene Delacroix’s homage to the French Revolution, entitled “Liberty Leading the People” has been defaced by a “9/11 truther,” raising questions once again about museum security and public access to priceless works of art. The 29-year-old woman used an indelible maker to write “AE911″ on the 1830 painting, one of the best known symbols of the 18th century Gallic upheaval....
ArtMUSEUMS
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Defaced Rothko at London’s Tate Raises Security Questions Anew

Keith Girard
A Mark Rothko painting defaced at London’s Tate Modern museum over the weekend once again raises questions about how to balance security against the desire to give the public the best experience possible while viewing priceless works of art. A man at the Tate was able to walk up to the Rothko’s untitled 1958 painting best known as “Black on Maroon” and mark a slogan on it in black paint. He was gone in a matter of minutes. The slogan “Vladimir Umanets ’12, a potential piece of yellowism,” doesn't seem to have a direct connection to Rothko or the work....
CRIME
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Buyer of $120M Edvard Munch Scream Pastel Revealed

Keith Girard
New York billionaire Leon Black spent $120 million in 12 minutes of furious bidding to become the proud owner of one of four copies of Edvard Munch’s masterpiece “The Scream.” TheImproper reported in February that Sotheby’s auction house in New York would sell the painting to the highest bidder in May. It was considered the ultimate prize for collectors of pre-expressionist 19th Century art, or any art for that matter....
ArtAUCTIONS