FBI seizes Basquiat paintings amid doubts over authenticity
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All 25 artworks of Jean-Michel Basquiat from an exhibit in Florida were seized by the FBI.
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The Orlando Museum of Art
FBI agents have seized all 25 artworks of Jean-Michel Basquiat from an exhibit in Florida as their authenticity is in question, according to the museum on Saturday.
The Orlando Museum of Art, commenting on the FBI's actions, said it complied with a request for access to Basquiat's works at the show called "Heroes and Monsters: Jean-Michel Basquiat," and that now the works are in the hands of the FBI.
"It is important to note that we still have not been led to believe the Museum has been or is the subject of any investigation," museum spokeswoman Emilia Bourmas-Fry said in an email sent to AFP.
The exhibit had been due to close June 30. The museum said it would keep cooperating. The FBI did not immediately reply to AFP's request for comment.
According to the New York Times, last month, they had learned that one of the artworks was painted on the back of a shipping box with written instructions, "Align top of FedEx Shipping Label here."
However, according to a designer that worked at the Federal Express, the instructions were in a typeface that was not used until 1994, 6 years after Basquiat's death.
With a warrant based on a 41-page affidavit, the FBI seized the paintings, saying that the agency's investigation had unveiled "false information related to the alleged prior ownership of the paintings," the Times said.
The probe also revealed "attempts to sell the paintings using false provenance, and bank records show possible solicitation of investment in artwork that is not authentic."
The director of the museum, Aaron De Groft, said Basquiat made these paintings in 1982 and sold them to a now deceased television screenwriter named Thad Mumford for $5,000, according to the Times. They said Mumford put them in a storage unit and apparently forgot about them for 30 years.
FBI special agent Elizabeth Rivas said that "Mumford never purchased Basquiat artwork and was unaware of any Basquiat artwork being in his storage locker," as per the Times.
If authentic, the paintings would be worth around $100 million, it added, quoting art experts.
