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Warhol After Warhol: Secrets, Lies, and Corruption in the Art World
Long-time art critic Richard Dorment reveals the corruption and lies of the art world and its mystifying authentication process.
Late one afternoon in the winter of 2003, art critic Richard Dorment answered a telephone call from a stranger. The caller was Joe Simon, an American film producer and art collector. He was ringing at the suggestion of David Hockney, his neighbour in Malibu. A committee of experts called the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board had declared the two Warhols in his collection to be fake. He wanted to know why and thought Dorment could help.
This call would mark the beginning of an extraordinary story that would play out over the next ten years and would involve a cast of characters straight out of a n novel. From rock icons and film stars; art dealers and art forgers; to a murdered Russian oligarch and a lawyer for the mob; from courtrooms to auction all took part in a bitter struggle debating the authenticity of a series of paintings by the most famous American artist of the twentieth century.
Part detective story, part art history, part memoir, and part courtroom drama, Warhol After Warhol is a spellbinding account of the dark connection between money, power, and art.
Late one afternoon in the winter of 2003, art critic Richard Dorment answered a telephone call from a stranger. The caller was Joe Simon, an American film producer and art collector. He was ringing at the suggestion of David Hockney, his neighbour in Malibu. A committee of experts called the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board had declared the two Warhols in his collection to be fake. He wanted to know why and thought Dorment could help.
This call would mark the beginning of an extraordinary story that would play out over the next ten years and would involve a cast of characters straight out of a n novel. From rock icons and film stars; art dealers and art forgers; to a murdered Russian oligarch and a lawyer for the mob; from courtrooms to auction all took part in a bitter struggle debating the authenticity of a series of paintings by the most famous American artist of the twentieth century.
Part detective story, part art history, part memoir, and part courtroom drama, Warhol After Warhol is a spellbinding account of the dark connection between money, power, and art.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published December 5, 2023
18 people are currently reading
297 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 23, 2024
Warhol’s work extends the boundaries of what is considered fine art
A painting can be an original Andy Warhol, even if he never touched it 84
Moved division of labor from commercial art into fine art
What authenticity means in the work of an artist who specialized in the mass production of images
Corruption in the art world takes many forms, and silence is among the most corroding 135
Much of the battle is fought in the pages of the New York Review of Books.
The law firm of Boies Schiller Flexner (“ the most aggressive, ruthless, and expensive law firm in the United States” 143) comes across as one of the main villains in the story, almost as much as their client, the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board does. The heroes are Joe Simon, who took on these two, and the author whose investigative journalism widened the search for corruption.
When I began reading this book (which I found recommended in the pages of the PAW), I knew and cared very little about Andy Warhol‘s art, or authentication of fine art. I almost stopped reading it after about 75 pages, but then I got hooked by the legal battle, and by the preceding war of letters in the pages of the New York Review of Books
September 15, 2025
engaging and interesting look into one of the most popular mainstream culture artists and the controversy surrounding his estate.
February 26, 2024
The case of two works by Warhol whose authenticity is in dispute. This book explores the long-lasting legal battle with the Warhol authentication board for verification that these works are genuine. Interesting topic but disjointed writing and structure. The book jumps through time and location, name-dropping celebrities, board members, journalists, etc.
February 9, 2024
This is a fascinating dive into the world of authenticating artworks told by an art critic who became embroiled in it. I didn't know much about this aspect of art, and while the technical elements are necessary though dry, the true life story moves along at a decent pace.
August 25, 2025
Enough content for one or two engaging articles somewhat torturously reshaped into a full-sized book. Probably most enjoyable if you know almost nothing about Andy Warhol but a lot about the law, which does not describe me, unfortunately.
February 29, 2024
To begin - I have to say this whole thing reads like a Hulu limited series waiting to happen. Seriously when the Russian oligarch came into the picture I was like “oh it’s on!” At a certain point it occurred to me that this whole thing - the “secrets, lies and corruption” - would have probably made Andy Warhol so giddy. It is easy to imagine him somewhere sitting and watching this inane series of events, drinking an RC Cola and deadpanning “This is uhhhh … soooo … ummmm … great.”
One thing that did bug me - and I actually (dorkingly) emailed the publisher about this: Dorment writes in a footnote that Valerie Solanas inadvertently created the Shot Marilyns when gunshots she fired missed hitting Warhol in her attempt on his life in 1968. In fact they were a result of Dorothy Podber deliberately shooting them in 1964. It was a very casual misstatement of history in a footnote that I felt needed to be corrected. To attach Solanas with these works makes them unnecessarily tragic and somber when in reality the hilarious insanity of both Podber’s act and Warhol’s alleged response (“Please ask Dorothy to not do that again”) makes them an incredibly fitting piece of Warhol’s legacy.
One thing that did bug me - and I actually (dorkingly) emailed the publisher about this: Dorment writes in a footnote that Valerie Solanas inadvertently created the Shot Marilyns when gunshots she fired missed hitting Warhol in her attempt on his life in 1968. In fact they were a result of Dorothy Podber deliberately shooting them in 1964. It was a very casual misstatement of history in a footnote that I felt needed to be corrected. To attach Solanas with these works makes them unnecessarily tragic and somber when in reality the hilarious insanity of both Podber’s act and Warhol’s alleged response (“Please ask Dorothy to not do that again”) makes them an incredibly fitting piece of Warhol’s legacy.
January 1, 2024
A fascinating book! The author, an art critic living in London, became peripherally involved in a question of authentication of two works by Andy Warhol. The owner, Joe Simon, a well-connected Hollywood producer and society figure, had submitted them for authentication to the Warhol Authentication Board in 2002, and had been absolutely flabbergasted when they came back with a stamp "denied". As the work had been authenticated in the 1990s by people who had actually worked with Andy Warhol, and as the Authentication Board refused to explain why they believed they were fakes, Simon mobilized all the resources at his disposal to figure out what exactly was wrong with his art works - or with the Authentication Board.
One of the pieces indeed turned out to be a fake - it was a collage of dollar bills that had been issued after Warhol's death. But the other, a Red Portrait from 1965, was a different matter. Andy Warhol had created a series of silkscreened works from that very same acetate in 1964, and the works did look different - but was that enough to discredit the authorship of the 1965 series, of which Simon's art work was an example?
The hapless Dorment became involved because he knew one of the members of the Authentication Board, and naively sent that person an email asking him to be sure to review the material that Simon had submitted for his second attempt at getting the 1965 Red Portrait authenticated. And somehow that turned into almost 10 years of reluctant involvement in an ugly story that involved lawsuits, legal bullying and a vivid correspondence in the pages of the New York Review of Books. Simon eventually abandoned his lawsuit against the powerful Warhol Foundation, simply because he was running out of money to pay his legal bills. But perhaps it could be considered a moral victory that shortly after the Warhol Foundation announced that it would wrap up/end the Authentication Board. And I believe that the Basquiat Board similarly stopped authenticating works by that artist as well.
There are 2 main themes in the book. The first is the question of "who gets to authenticate a work by a certain artist, and what resources should they leverage to make the best informed decision?" The author's position (which I agree with) is that this should be done by experts in the artist's work, and that, when possible, the opinion of people who knew the artist, such as studio assistants, friends and partners, should be sought. In the case of the Authentication Board, it seems that the 2 art historians charged with the responsibility of reviewing disputed art works, were lightweights in terms of their knowledge of Warhol's work, and specifically of his attitude towards silk-screening, an industrial process that makes it possible to make multiple prints of a single acetate. And during the long legal procedure it became clear that they had not taken the testimony of the Warhol entourage into account, preferring to work in isolation and without transparency.
The second question can be phrased as "When is an item a piece of art by a certain artist?" When Marcel Duchamp signed an urinal, it became a piece of art. When Warhol silk-screened several versions of the Red Portrait in 1964 and added hand-painted touches, they were considered original pieces of art by Warhol. When the same acetate was used for the 1965 series, and the work was performed by a commercial outfit, but with Warhol supervising the work, selecting the colors etc, by phone and via his studio assistants, did that count as artwork by Andy Warhol? The Authentication Board apparently rejected the work because in 1965 Warhol did not use commercial printers frequently - although, apparently, he would do that more frequently later in his career. At any rate, it became a moot point because evidence emerged that Andy Warhol had signed at least one of the 1965 prints and had chosen it to appear on the cover of a catalogue of his work. That, one would think, would mean that he acknowledged the 1965 prints as his work.
The book also goes into the heavy-handed tactics used by the lawyer-led Warhol Foundation, and the unhealthy ties between the Warhol Foundation (which would benefit from certain sales of Warhol's work) and the Authentication Board (which had the authority to decide which works were genuine or not). The book almost reads like a thriller in the sections where the author starts to gain access to the Authentication Board's data and begins to piece together the story of the 1965 series.
Very enjoyable (and enlightening) for people with an interest in art history.
One of the pieces indeed turned out to be a fake - it was a collage of dollar bills that had been issued after Warhol's death. But the other, a Red Portrait from 1965, was a different matter. Andy Warhol had created a series of silkscreened works from that very same acetate in 1964, and the works did look different - but was that enough to discredit the authorship of the 1965 series, of which Simon's art work was an example?
The hapless Dorment became involved because he knew one of the members of the Authentication Board, and naively sent that person an email asking him to be sure to review the material that Simon had submitted for his second attempt at getting the 1965 Red Portrait authenticated. And somehow that turned into almost 10 years of reluctant involvement in an ugly story that involved lawsuits, legal bullying and a vivid correspondence in the pages of the New York Review of Books. Simon eventually abandoned his lawsuit against the powerful Warhol Foundation, simply because he was running out of money to pay his legal bills. But perhaps it could be considered a moral victory that shortly after the Warhol Foundation announced that it would wrap up/end the Authentication Board. And I believe that the Basquiat Board similarly stopped authenticating works by that artist as well.
There are 2 main themes in the book. The first is the question of "who gets to authenticate a work by a certain artist, and what resources should they leverage to make the best informed decision?" The author's position (which I agree with) is that this should be done by experts in the artist's work, and that, when possible, the opinion of people who knew the artist, such as studio assistants, friends and partners, should be sought. In the case of the Authentication Board, it seems that the 2 art historians charged with the responsibility of reviewing disputed art works, were lightweights in terms of their knowledge of Warhol's work, and specifically of his attitude towards silk-screening, an industrial process that makes it possible to make multiple prints of a single acetate. And during the long legal procedure it became clear that they had not taken the testimony of the Warhol entourage into account, preferring to work in isolation and without transparency.
The second question can be phrased as "When is an item a piece of art by a certain artist?" When Marcel Duchamp signed an urinal, it became a piece of art. When Warhol silk-screened several versions of the Red Portrait in 1964 and added hand-painted touches, they were considered original pieces of art by Warhol. When the same acetate was used for the 1965 series, and the work was performed by a commercial outfit, but with Warhol supervising the work, selecting the colors etc, by phone and via his studio assistants, did that count as artwork by Andy Warhol? The Authentication Board apparently rejected the work because in 1965 Warhol did not use commercial printers frequently - although, apparently, he would do that more frequently later in his career. At any rate, it became a moot point because evidence emerged that Andy Warhol had signed at least one of the 1965 prints and had chosen it to appear on the cover of a catalogue of his work. That, one would think, would mean that he acknowledged the 1965 prints as his work.
The book also goes into the heavy-handed tactics used by the lawyer-led Warhol Foundation, and the unhealthy ties between the Warhol Foundation (which would benefit from certain sales of Warhol's work) and the Authentication Board (which had the authority to decide which works were genuine or not). The book almost reads like a thriller in the sections where the author starts to gain access to the Authentication Board's data and begins to piece together the story of the 1965 series.
Very enjoyable (and enlightening) for people with an interest in art history.
December 13, 2025
While Warhol After Warhol by Richard Dorment promises to be an exploration of the intersection between art and money, it is better characterized as a story of money and legality. Warhol After Warhol follows the story of Joe Simon and his court cases against the Warhol Authentication Board, after the Board declares one of Simon’s Warhol’s a fake even though he is convinced he has the necessary evidence to prove that it is real. It follows the entire story of Simon’s dealings with the Board beginning with Dorment’s introduction to its existence and ending with Simon obsessed with proving the authenticity of his painting, bankrupt from the court cases, and emotionally destroyed by the ordeal.
The story is told by art critic Richard Dorment who first becomes familiar with the case after receiving a call from Joe Simon asking him to take a look at his paintings which he believes to be Warhols. A friendship blossoms between the two men, and Dorment ends up becoming an active advocate and public supporter of Simon and his quest to get the Warhol Authentification Board to recognize his Warhols as real.
This book is another example of Dorment’s dedication to supporting Simon and his legacy, as it simply reiterates the case and re-examins the evidence provided by both parties. Therefore, this is becomes more of a courthouse drama than a book on art history, as it restricts itself to exploring Warhol’s legacy purely in terms of the Warhol Foundation and the Warhol Authentification Board not his legacy in art or culture. The art in this book feels completely secondary, and serves as a backdrop on which a legal drama can unfold.
This is also reflected in the tone of the book, as it reads as a piece of journalism and not as a piece of art history. A core element of Dorment’s message is about whistleblower’s and the role of the public in scandals like these. While the book focuses on the specifics of Simon’s case, it also attempts to bring to light the injustice of the legal system and the way that the relationship between art and money make fields like art history and art authentication more at risk of being corrupted to benefit certain groups of people, and how this fundamentally corrodes these fields. This exploration benefited from the framing of this book in terms of a legal battle as it more viscerally portrayed the how important money is and how these court cases determine the legacy of artists and shape the field of art history.
The second theme it explores is what makes something an artists work. As the book and the court case is interested in weather or not two paintings can be classed as Warhol’s, they must first answer what it means to be a Warhol. This is especially difficult as Warhol’s art is so reproducible and design to be made en mass, so it leads to interesting discussions about to what extent and artist needs to be involved in a piece of work for that piece of work to count to their catalouge. This exploration did not benefit from the format of this book, as it was to narrowly constrained to the legality of things and could only explore this from the angle of Warhol even though this discussion could have benefited from being informed by multiple artists working in different mediums, which was firmly outside the scope of this book.
Overall, while this book is quite interesting it was not what I was looking for and it’s narrow focus on the specifics of a decades long court case limited its ability to engage in a meaningful way with reflections on art. While it did have interesting things to say about the intersection between art, money and the law, it read more like a courthouse drama than anything else.
If you enjoyed my review consider checking out my Substack to stay up to date with my reviews and bookish opinions
The story is told by art critic Richard Dorment who first becomes familiar with the case after receiving a call from Joe Simon asking him to take a look at his paintings which he believes to be Warhols. A friendship blossoms between the two men, and Dorment ends up becoming an active advocate and public supporter of Simon and his quest to get the Warhol Authentification Board to recognize his Warhols as real.
This book is another example of Dorment’s dedication to supporting Simon and his legacy, as it simply reiterates the case and re-examins the evidence provided by both parties. Therefore, this is becomes more of a courthouse drama than a book on art history, as it restricts itself to exploring Warhol’s legacy purely in terms of the Warhol Foundation and the Warhol Authentification Board not his legacy in art or culture. The art in this book feels completely secondary, and serves as a backdrop on which a legal drama can unfold.
This is also reflected in the tone of the book, as it reads as a piece of journalism and not as a piece of art history. A core element of Dorment’s message is about whistleblower’s and the role of the public in scandals like these. While the book focuses on the specifics of Simon’s case, it also attempts to bring to light the injustice of the legal system and the way that the relationship between art and money make fields like art history and art authentication more at risk of being corrupted to benefit certain groups of people, and how this fundamentally corrodes these fields. This exploration benefited from the framing of this book in terms of a legal battle as it more viscerally portrayed the how important money is and how these court cases determine the legacy of artists and shape the field of art history.
The second theme it explores is what makes something an artists work. As the book and the court case is interested in weather or not two paintings can be classed as Warhol’s, they must first answer what it means to be a Warhol. This is especially difficult as Warhol’s art is so reproducible and design to be made en mass, so it leads to interesting discussions about to what extent and artist needs to be involved in a piece of work for that piece of work to count to their catalouge. This exploration did not benefit from the format of this book, as it was to narrowly constrained to the legality of things and could only explore this from the angle of Warhol even though this discussion could have benefited from being informed by multiple artists working in different mediums, which was firmly outside the scope of this book.
Overall, while this book is quite interesting it was not what I was looking for and it’s narrow focus on the specifics of a decades long court case limited its ability to engage in a meaningful way with reflections on art. While it did have interesting things to say about the intersection between art, money and the law, it read more like a courthouse drama than anything else.
If you enjoyed my review consider checking out my Substack to stay up to date with my reviews and bookish opinions
May 12, 2024
Firstly this book was a great read , very entertaining reads like a well written novel . Has to be non- fiction , if you made it up no one would believe it.
Secondly it confirmed what I always thought was the case with Warhol’s work. It only was regarded as art when someone deemed it so, albeit “unqualified “ and self serving as depicted here. According to the book, people with no significant art experience, either in Warhol’s work or otherwise decided what was Warhol art and what was not, and the art sheep fell all over themselves to buy it.
Is graffitiizing or doodling on a photo Warhol hasn’t taken or a print , art? Apparently if and only if , the Warhol Foundation says so and then “ pumps and dumps “ it like some junk bond or over the counter stock ,when it needs money . A lot of parallels to the stock market here .
For some collectors, art is determined solely by someone telling them it is art. In Warhol’s case it appears that even if Warhol had little, questionable , and even no provable input and even if the printers did their own thing with more input in the final product than Warhol , the Foundation freely declares it art and magically it becomes so and valuable, very similar to some stocks.
There’s no value in the work itself. That seems to be the theme in this book, there’s very little dissertation or discussion on the merits of Warhol’s work . Faint praise.
I don’t recall even Warhol much touting his work as art.
As Marshall McLuhan said, “ The medium is the message“ and maybe that was Andy’s idea all along and stretching it a bit , anything within that context ….is art.
Secondly it confirmed what I always thought was the case with Warhol’s work. It only was regarded as art when someone deemed it so, albeit “unqualified “ and self serving as depicted here. According to the book, people with no significant art experience, either in Warhol’s work or otherwise decided what was Warhol art and what was not, and the art sheep fell all over themselves to buy it.
Is graffitiizing or doodling on a photo Warhol hasn’t taken or a print , art? Apparently if and only if , the Warhol Foundation says so and then “ pumps and dumps “ it like some junk bond or over the counter stock ,when it needs money . A lot of parallels to the stock market here .
For some collectors, art is determined solely by someone telling them it is art. In Warhol’s case it appears that even if Warhol had little, questionable , and even no provable input and even if the printers did their own thing with more input in the final product than Warhol , the Foundation freely declares it art and magically it becomes so and valuable, very similar to some stocks.
There’s no value in the work itself. That seems to be the theme in this book, there’s very little dissertation or discussion on the merits of Warhol’s work . Faint praise.
I don’t recall even Warhol much touting his work as art.
As Marshall McLuhan said, “ The medium is the message“ and maybe that was Andy’s idea all along and stretching it a bit , anything within that context ….is art.
March 15, 2024
This is a difficult one to read and of limited interest to most as it deals exclusively with a protracted attempt by one individual to authenticate a work ostensibly given to him by Warhol as an original work of art. A prolific and much copied artist who worked in many dimensions, who often relied on assistants in "the factory" and/or external printers in later years to complete his work His approach, work style (think Campbell soup cans) and statements made about his technique make the question about what is actually a genuine work of art difficult to define. After his death in '87 responsibility for determining the authenticity of a piece by Warhol was the domain of a two member team of self- appointed experts with input from recognized art historians, gallerists and critics. Those pieces authenticated as original soar in value, others not; this quirky process and what appears to be collusion with the Warhol Foundation are at the heart of this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2024
I was initially slow to be interested in Joe Simon's quest for the authentication of his Warhol pieces. However, as it becomes clear how corrupt the Andy Warhol Foundation and Authentication Board was and how brazenly they were willing to destroy lives and careers to enrich themselves, I became intrigued. The way in which Warhol transitioned to a "hands-off" approach to art makes for nuanced discussions about art authenticity. 3.25 stars.
January 29, 2024
DNF. Garbage. Basically the story of how a rich asshole who never worked hard for anything in his life bought counterfeit Andy Warhol paintings and were supposed to act like he deserves sympathy? Hard pass. Interested in the art world? Look literally anywhere else.
April 26, 2024
A deep dive into the world of art authentication! Some of the facts he uncovers are jaw-dropping. Only issue is that it bounces around a lot, but it is still be pretty readable. Would recommend for anyone interested in the intersection of art and law (and art law)!
July 14, 2024
Absolutely fantastic
October 15, 2024
This is why I only buy my art from Target!!😆😄. Very educational, I've heard the world of art collecting is rife with scams, but this is really over the top. Great read and eye opening.
May 17, 2025
This book was a real surprise. Utterly brilliant and I learned so much at the same time
November 30, 2025
Pretty good. One of my favorite shows is Fake or Fortune so this was an easy choice to read. Just kinda fizzled out but worth a read! (This was an audiobook for me though)
April 18, 2024
One of those books where the author has a connection with a person and goes down the rabbit hole of the art world. I skimmed over a few of the chapters describing the legal battles but felt the conclusion was excellent. Canadian readers might want to check out "The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case."
May 5, 2024
An interesting story that would have made a better podcast than book.
January 3, 2024
“Warhol after Warhol" by Richard Dorment is an enthralling page-turner that held me captivated from start to finish. Delving into the gripping experiences of Joe Simon with the Warhol authentication board, the book unveils a fascinating world of art authentication and the complexities surrounding it. Dorment skillfully exposes the stories of paintings transformed from fake to authentic, shedding light on the foundation's intriguing journey. The narrative's exploration of corruption within the foundation adds an extra layer of suspense, making this book a must-read for anyone intrigued by the art world's hidden truths. Highly recommended for its engaging storytelling and eye-opening revelations. Like a John Grisham thriller.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews