Introducing: Art Fraud

An investigative journey through one of the biggest cases of art fraud in US history: The Knoedler Gallery. Written by VANITY FAIR reporter Michael Shnayerson and hosted by Alec Baldwin, ART FRAUD exposes the scandal of dozens of disputed paintings, and over 80 million dollars in profit that led to the stunning collapse of one of the oldest and most revered art galleries in New York City.

Presented by Cavalry Audio and iHeartRadio

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, listeners, it's my pleasure to invite you to listen
to a new true crime podcast from Cavalry Audio and
I Heart Radio. It's called Art Fraud, and it exposes
the single greatest art crime in US history. Executive produced
and narrated by Alec Baldwin. If you like stories about
rich people getting cond out of their money while also

(00:23):
being immersed in that strange and beautiful world of the
mid century masters that put the abstract Expressionist movement on
the map, then Art Fraud is the podcast for you.
I'm about to play the trailer while you're listening. You
can follow Art Fraud on the I Heart Radio app,
on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Enjoy

(00:45):
Art Fraud. The art world it is essentially a money
laundering business. The best fakes are still hanging on people's balls.
You know, they don't even know or suspect that they're fakes.
I'm Alec Baldwin and this is a podcast about deception, greed,
and forgery in the art world. I just walked in

(01:06):
and saw this bright red painting presuming to be a rothco.
Of course, art forgeries only happen because there's money to
be made a lot of money. I'm listening to how
what they're paying for each thing. It was an incredible
mans of money. We sent him a check for one million,

(01:26):
one thousand, but he said to us that he thought
the picture was now worth three million, and he was
gonna sue us for that much money. The art market
is ripe for cons because it's inherently subjective. I just
couldn't even look at it because it was so garish

(01:48):
and so not by Rothko. You've got to prove that
the paintings are fake, and you've got to prove that
someone who sold them knew that they were fake. There
were an unusually large umber of prominent people who seemingly
were going to stand by the paintings and say that
they were real. You knew the painting was fake. Um.

(02:13):
Listen to Art Fraud on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.