Legal Disputes Continue to Unfold Three Years After Counterfeit Basquiat Exhibition at the OMA

By Elizabeth Gillett

Almost three years following the controversy, two lawsuits stemming from a Basquiat exhibition at the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA) continue to gain momentum. The, now infamous, exhibition, entitled Heroes and Monsters: Jean-Michel Basquiat, The Thaddeus Mumford Jr. Venice Collection, opened in February 2022 and was promptly shut in June of that year after a raid by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The cause for the raid? 25 purportedly counterfeit works, on loan from the Basquiat Venice Collection Group (BVCG), which served as the centrepiece for the exhibition. The aftermath resulted in a significant shift in the leadership and reputation of the OMA—with both former Director Aaron De Groft and Chairwoman of the Board Cynthia Brumback being ousted from their roles and the Museum’s membership with the American Alliance of Museums placed on probation. Moreover, the controversy has led to extensive legal proceedings involving the OMA, De Groft, BVCG, and insurance organisations Liberty Mutual and the Great American Insurance Group.  

Allegedly from Thad Mumford’s storage unit and said to be by Basquiat:

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (Self-Portrait with His Cowboy Hat and Wearing Leonardo da Vinci’s Flying Suit), 1982, mixed media on corrugated cardboard.

Image courtesy of the Orlando Museum of Art.

The elaborate scheme—constructed by former auctioneer Michael Barzman and his accomplice, whom Barzman referred to as J.F.—began in 2012 when J.F. created between 20 and 30 works utilising ‘various art materials’ on cardboard, each of which took between five and 30 minutes to complete. Barzman then crafted a false provenance, claiming the pieces were painted by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) in 1982 when living and working at the home of mega-gallerist Larry Gagosian in Venice, California. Barzman claimed the works were sold for a mere $5,000, and without the knowledge of Gagosian, directly to Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Thad Mumford, who placed them in a storage unit. For the next 30 years the works allegedly remained in storage until Barzman ‘discovered’ the works in Autumn 2012 and proceeded to sell them through EBay and his auction business, built around selling items from seized storage units.

From the outset there was speculation amongst art experts concerning the pieces’ authenticity, with Gagosian himself stating he found ‘the scenario of the story highly unlikely’ and art organisations, such as Sotheby’s, reluctant to comment on the collection’s authenticity. Conveniently, the works’ ‘reappearance’ followed the dissolution of the Basquiat Estate’s Authentication Committee in September 2012, and the legitimacy of the collection was unable to be determined by the Estate.

The lot was sold for around $15,000 to William Force and financial backer Lee Mangin and is currently co-owned by Force, Taryn Burns, and Pierce O’Donnell, collectively known as the Basquiat Venice Collection Group. Following the acquisition, Force and Mangin allegedly had lunch with Mumford where they discussed Mumford’s acquisition of the works and were gifted a poem, supposedly written and typed by Mumford and signed in oil stick by Basquiat. However, prior to his death in 2018, Mumford stated he never purchased any of Basquiat’s work and never saw the pieces in his storage unit. Additionally, Mumford’s brother, Jeffrey Mumford expressed suspicion as Thad never mentioned the collection to Jeffrey or his wife, an artist working in New York around the same time as Basquiat. Furthermore, Jeffrey claimed Thad rarely visited galleries and was intimidated by the art world as ‘he felt he had to have a degree in art in order to appreciate the work.’

In 2017, Art Historian and author of Reading Basquiat: Exploring Ambivalence in American Art Dr Jordana Moore Saggese concluded 17 of the 25 works may have been genuine, however she explicitly stated her overview was ‘in no way intended to substitute for a certification of authenticity by the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat.’ Later, in 2018 and 2019, amidst the discourse regarding the collection’s authenticity, Diego Cortez, a founding member of the Basquiat Estate’s Authentication Committee, authenticated the collection.

Poem said to be written and typed by Mumford and initialed in oil stick by Basquiat.

Image courtesy of the Orlando Museum of Art.

Ignoring speculation from the OMA’s curatorial team regarding the collection’s legitimacy as well as a July 2021 subpoena from the FBI’s Art Crime Unit demanding ‘any and all’ documentation and communication regarding the works, the show opened as planned until it was shut down just four months later. Throughout the FBI’s investigation both DeGroft and BVCG have dug their heels in, refusing to accept the pieces are almost certainly forgeries. Speaking to The New York Times in 2022, De Groft stated, ‘my reputation is at stake as well and I’ve absolutely no doubt these are Basquiats’, a statement he would echo until his death. Additionally, Los Angeles based Litigator Pierce O’Donnell has been particularly vocal about the authenticity of the works, citing the lines from Mumford’s poem ‘25 paintings bring riches’ and ‘no longer outsiders, industry insiders golden crowns receiving…we film, we write, we film, we paint’ as evidence. However, the cardboard used in one of the works has a FedEx logo with typeface not utilised by the shipping company until 1994—six years after the Neo-Expressionist’s death—a clear indication of the works inauthenticity and a piece of evidence O’Donnell brashly brushed aside stating: ‘if I presented all this evidence to a jury—including this thing about FedEx—I have no doubt how it would come out.’

Following his forced removal from the OMA in June 2022, the OMA sued De Groft for fraud and breach of contract in August of 2023. Three months later, De Groft countersued for defamation of character and wrongful termination, seeking $314,246.40 and additional expenses concerning the wrongful termination suit and unspecified compensation for defamation. The lawsuit, which remains active, has increased in complexity after De Groft’s death on 18 January, a result of an unspecified illness. Regarding De Groft’s passing, a spokesperson for the OMA stated, ‘we were saddened to hear about the passing of Aaron De Groft. Our thoughts are with his family at the time of loss’, but declined to comment on the legal disputes at the time of De Groft’s death. However, as the Florida Survival Statute states ‘no cause of action [is to die] with the person’, the case may continue to proceed with a personal representative of the estate acting on De Groft’s behalf.

In addition to the ongoing disputes between the OMA and De Groft, the BVCG filed a $19.7 million loss with Liberty Mutual and Great American to which the insurers have responded that ‘the defendants do not have any valid claim to proceeds from this ‘loss’ since there is no loss to begin with.’ Furthermore, the insurers are seeking a declaratory judgement as they claim BVCG presented ‘intentional or negligent misrepresentations’ of the works’ authenticity and ‘forgeries do not constitute ‘covered property’.’ However, akin to DeGroft, the owners have maintained the works are authentic, and regardless of authenticity they claim that as the insurers did not verify the collection’s legitimacy, BVCG is owed the payout. Additionally, the suit, originally filed by the insurers in state court in Orlando, has been petitioned by the defendants to move to an Orlando federal court as the members of BVCG reside in different states. This move has resulted in the plaintiff filing to move the case back to state court as that is where De Groft and the OMA’s case is taking place. The insurers have also claimed they believe the outcome from De Groft and the OMA’s suit will determine the damages that will occur if the works are in fact deemed counterfeit. Furthermore, on 17 January, District Judge Paul G. Byron ordered the OMA, BVCG, and the insurers to select a mediator and meditation date within the next 14 days, meaning further developments are sure to ensue in the coming weeks.  

Bibliography

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