Con artists

Remember Anna Delvey? (Nee: Anna Sorokin.) She's the con artist who, parading around as a German heiress, managed to defraud banks, hotels, and anyone unfortunate to make her acquaintance. To the tune of over a quarter-of-million dollars. She spent a couple of years in prison for her troubles, and once she was released, she was taken into ICE custody. She's still being held, pending deportation back to Germany. (If they'll take her. Her family is originally from Russia.) 

Earlier this year, Inventing Anna, a somewhat fictionalized accounting of her scam was out on Netflix. 

Anna was always on the fringe of the art world - the centerpiece of her scam was establishing some sort of 21st century salon (presided over by herself, of course) - but since then, with more time on her hands while in detention, she's gotten more into her own art. Putting the art in con artist, as it were. 

This spring, Delvey's work was part of a group showing, followed by a solo show. One goal the show(s) was to raise money to "Free Anna" (the first show's title) from ICE custody. 

“I would consider her style kind of a crossover between fashion sketches and satirical comics,” said Chris Martine, a representative for Delvey as the cofounder of Founders Art Club, which he describes as an an advisory body and group of influential collectors. “She has an intriguing style, but the more important thing is really the intangibles that she brings to the table, which is that people are just fascinated by her. (Source: Art News)

Those intangibles are, I assume, the cachet of being a convicted con artist, and having a Netflix series devoted to her scam. 

Martine was anticipating a reasonably hot market for Delvey's work, hoping that her original

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pieces would go for around $10K. Eye of the beholder, I guess. ("Limited edition" prints can be had for $250.)

Founders Art Club reps only two "artists." Delvey's one.

...the other [is] also a well-known art world scammer: Alfredo Martinez. Martinez was jailed for 21 months starting in 2002 for the sale of Jean-Michel Basquiat forgeries he made and sold to prominent collectors for more than $100,000.

Martinez was an integral part of the “Free Anna Delvey” group show as he introduced Martine to Delvey, curated the show, and most importantly, was the artist that adapted sketches Delvey had made in prison to large-format pieces, as Delvey had been denied larger paper.

“While Alfredo was in prison, he was making art and was selling, too,” said Martine. A work Martinez made while in prison, Prison Drawing (Gun), from 2004, is currently held in the Museum of Modern Art’s collection. “So obviously he was the perfect match to help Anna launch this.”

Okay. Oh, me of little faith did check to make sure that Alfredo's drawing is, in fact, in MOMA's collection. (Not on exhibit, mind you.) 

But, wait. There's more. There's always more. 

Julia Morrison, a fellow artiste - and a writer - has emerged, claiming that she helped fund the "Free Anna" show to the tune of $8K that hasn't been paid back. 

“I still have $8,000 on my credit card,” Morrison told the Post. “I can’t afford to just throw $8,000 worth of Anna Delvey’s expenses on my card. I wasn’t doing it to be a good friend to her. I did it for the show, knowing that I’d be paid back. At least that’s what Alfredo promised.” (Source: Art News)

Martinez says that Morrison will be repaid at some point.

And we do know that there's honor among art thieves, don't we?

Julia Morrison is "known", of quasi-known, or known with a very small k known for a not so close DM encounter with Armie Hammer:

Morrison first came to media attention when she released screenshots of her text messages with actor Armie Hammer, where he described his sexual fantasies. Morrison later made NFTs of those screenshots.

I don't know how much - if anything - Morrison made from those NFT's. NFT's are getting to be so yesterday. 

"A moment in time, like Jackson Pollock drips paint on a canvas," Morrison exults. "Own a part of internet history, and the first NFT minted within the #MeToo Movement." (Source: White Hot Magazine)

You got your thieving con artists. And your artists who are cons. And legit NFT artists who are all in on the legit, sucker-born-everyday con that is the NFT art world.

Oh, what a world we live in.