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daisy_bey 's review for:
„The Devil Wears Rothko“ by Barry Avrich is a very informative and compelling „crime thriller“ (as the author calls it) about an incredible art fraud case that leads to the downfall and closing of one of the United States oldest art dealerships and galleries, the Knoedler Gallery.
The Author Barry Avrich created a documentary called „Made You Look“ about this exact case, which was published on Netflix in 2020. The book discusses the fraud scandal and also offers additional information and insight that apparently goes beyond the contents of the documentary. (I have not seen the documentary yet but I am planning to watch it very soon!)
The book is very engaging and dives into the history of the Knoedler Gallery. It also offers in-depth explanations of the inner workings of the art world and also terminologies such as „provenance“ etc., which are important aspects when it comes to art pieces and trying to prove their authenticity.
I think that this book is overall very interesting and very gripping. It was fascinating to see how this scandal came to be and how complex and intricate this case really is.
What I personally also appreciated was the mentioning of art works that were looted and stolen by the Nazi Regime and how those art pieces are still circulating around in the art world, even though they are considered stolen art. I don’t think a lot of people are actually aware of this and how many people are fighting to gain back the ownership of art works that were unrightfully taken from their families back in the Third Reich.
What I personally also appreciated was the mentioning of art works that were looted and stolen by the Nazi Regime and how those art pieces are still circulating around in the art world, even though they are considered stolen art. I don’t think a lot of people are actually aware of this and how many people are fighting to gain back the ownership of art works that were unrightfully taken from their families back in the Third Reich.
The author of the book is also the narrator of the audiobook. I personally think that he did a great job narrating it.
Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for giving me access to this books audiobook ARC! ^^