THE DIEGO RIVERA PICKPOCKET and ARTFUL DODGERS

THE DIEGO RIVERA PICKPOCKET AND ARTFUL DODGERS

You have read here about the fun we had with Enrique and Silvia Zepeda in Mexico City. One of the things we did was to visit the Diego Rivera Mural Museum which displays a huge painting containing most of the historic figures of the history of Mexico. Enrique and I enjoyed identifying the portraits to each other and discussing the myriad of interesting details.

One was a small boy lower left who is picking the pocket of a gentleman--possibly the 1890s. I made mention to Enrique that perhaps I should consider using the image for the cover of my book Artful Dodgers: Fraud and Foolishness In The Art Market. The title, of course, is taken from the Charles Dickens pickpocket character in Oliver Twist. Being the splendid fellow he is, I soon received an e-mail from Enrique with that image from the mural attached.

The book is in final rewrite and will go to an editor for preliminary review next week. I feel it is going to be well-received, provide a lot of perspectives on the art market that hardly anyone (except the insiders) know, and piss off a lot of dealers. As John Pope Hennessey wrote, "A dedication to the truth can make one many enemies". Who knows that better than me; the target of a Googlebomb, online lies and attacks from the lower reaches of the Dali market?

It will be good to soon move on to full concentration on my next book, Persistence of Enigma: The Salvador Dali Market. Now that one's really going to upset some people, but after all, if they'd live their lives better, I'd have nothing to write about.