Orlando Museum of Art sues owners of fake Basquiat paintings, former museum director – WESH 2 Orlando

The Orlando Museum of Art has taken legal action against those behind the Heroes & Monsters Exhibition, which claimed to feature previously unseen works by the renowned artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Orange County, aims to address alleged fraud involving the authenticity and origin of the displayed artworks.The Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Orlando Museum of Art, Mark Elliott, shared that the museum felt compelled to go to court due to concerns about the legitimacy of the exhibited pieces. According to Elliott, the lawsuit “details the facts and circumstances that led to these works eventually finding their way to the Museum and seeks to hold responsible the people the Museum believes knowingly misrepresented the works’ authenticity and provenance. Given that litigation has commenced, the OMA looks forward to presenting its case to a jury.” Last year, the FBI raided the Orlando Museum of Art and seized more than two dozen paintings attributed to Basquiat. Orlando Museum of Art’s former CEO and director, Aaron De Groft, was removed following the raid.And then, in April, a California man pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about paintings’ origins.