FBI Investigates Whether These 25 Works by Jean-Micheal Basquiat Are Fake

Art + AuctionsFBI Investigates Whether These 25 Works by Jean-Michel Basquiat Are FakeA series of recently-unearthed Basquiats are the star of a show at the Orlando Museum of Art—but an FBI subpoena and expert skepticism suggest things may not be as they seem

By Tim Nelson

June 1, 2022

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The late Jean-Michel Basquiat has gone from a celebrated visionary to a sought-after brand. From $85 million sales at auction to the use of his Equals Pi in a Tiffany ad, the commodification of the artist who epitomized downtown NYC cool is inescapable—sometimes to the chagrin of those who knew him during his all-too-brief life. As the artist’s oeuvre is loaded with both cultural cache and commercial value, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would eventually be accused of cashing in on the hype with a series of fakes, which might be what has recently happened. On July 27, 2021, the FBI’s Art Crime Team issued a subpoena to the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA), then in the process of organizing “Heroes & Monsters: Jean-Michel Basquiat,” regarding the potentially dubious authenticity of 25 works the museum intended to display. If the paintings are conclusively deemed legitimate at the end of the ongoing investigation, assessments indicate the pieces would be collectively worth about $100 million.

The owners of the paintings and OMA chief executive Aaron De Groft see the paintings as authentic Basquiats, with experts commissioned by the owners providing statements that vouch for their provenance. As the story goes, Basquiat’s paintings on salvaged cardboard date to the artist’s time working out of a studio at the home of L.A.-based art dealer Larry Gagosian, in 1982. Basquiat sold those paintings to TV writer Thad Mumford for $5,000, who placed them in a storage locker. There, they sat forgotten for 30 years until the repossessed unit was purchased at auction by William Force and Lee Mangin for $15,000, in 2012, several years before Mumford’s death.

Jean-Michel Basquiat - Untitled (Industry Insider Big Head with TV, 1982 Oilstick and acrylic paint on cardboard 56 x 36.5 in. MJL Family Trust, LLC, c/o Mr. Richard LiPuma, Manager.

Beyond the fact that Gagosian himself “finds the scenario of the story highly unlikely,” The New York Times cites sources ranging from friends of Mumford to independent experts, all with their own reasons to regard the provenance of these works with suspicion. One important piece of evidence is that according to Lindon Leader, an independent brand expert who helped redesign FedEx’s logo and typeface, the backside of at least one of the cardboard paintings features a font not used by the shipping company until 1994—six years after Basquiat’s death. De Groft has since countered that FedEx has used a variety of fonts since the 1980s, though Leader regards this claim as “ridiculous”.

Despite allowing the Basquiat collection to lay untouched and unclaimed for 30 years, The New York Times observes that owner Lee Mangin stated in an interview that Mumford commemorated the acquisition by typing and printing a poem initialled by Basquiat. Described by De Groft as “almost like a receipt [that] refers to the works [and] the inscriptions in the works,” the poem is displayed within the exhibition where it serves as a linchpin of authentication.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (Industry Insider / Big Head with TV), 1982, Oilstick and acrylic paint on cardboard, 56 x 36.5 in. MJL Family Trust, LLC, c/o Mr. Richard LiPuma, Manager.

However, those who knew Mumford well, including Sheldon Bull, who worked with Mumford on M*A*S*H around the time of the supposed 1982 sale, regard the existence of anything typed and printed by Mumford with skepticism.

“Thad wrote on a legal pad…I never saw [him] type a single letter,” Bull told the The New York Times. “Thad was as technophobic as anybody I’ve ever met. He did not own a computer.”

Another circumstantial reason to suggest the possibility of a forgery includes the criminal record of owner Lee Mangin (also known to authorities as Leo Mangan), who was convicted of securities fraud, with the Securities and Exchange Commission placing him within a criminal ring accused of forging documents and issuing more than five million shares of fake stock.

Additionally, Jordana Moore Saggese claims that her 2017 report on the authenticity of the works has been misrepresented. Commissioned by Pierce O’Donnell, a third owner of the paintings, for at least $25,000, De Groft has cited Saggese’s report as an indicator that all 25 paintings can be attributed to Basquiat.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, circa 1985.

Photo: Rose Hartman/Getty Images

However, the University of Maryland associate professor of art has since said that pages stating that nine of the 25 could not be verified as Basquiats were removed by the owners. Colette Loll, a Johns Hopkins University lecturer who founded Art Fraud Insights and has trained members of the FBI’s Art Crime Team, also expressed ethical concern to the The New York Times about ownership’s involvement in a contentious editing process.

“The more that they started to push back at me,” Saggese told The New York Times, “the more I began to question their motives.”

The OMA’s exhibition—and the FBI’s investigation—remain ongoing. The alleged Basquiats will remain in the museum through June 30, before traveling onward to Italy. Information from an anonymous source connected to the investigation, which has included interviews with De Groft as well as a review of the OMA’s correspondence with both the owners of the paintings and art world experts, suggests that interviews have taken place as recently as April 2022.

Publicly, the three owners seem unworried. Citing “extensive due diligence” conducted by five experts, O'Donnell told the The New York Times that he intends to cooperate fully with the investigation. Richard LiPuma, a lawyer for Leo Mangan, described the investigation as “nothing more than a government agency doing its job by following up on a tip.”

Time will tell whether conclusive evidence emerges to charge anyone with the federal crime of intentionally selling a known forgery. But regardless of whether or not these works are real, expect anyone with a financial or emotional stake in the life and work of Jean-Michel Basquiat to take notice.

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