Author: Tod Volpe

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2011-04-01

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 1780570155

Tod Volpe had more than an excellent eye for art. His gift of the gab took him from a start-up gallery in New York's Soho into the houses, lives and wallets of stars including Jack Nicholson, Barbra Streisand, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Andy Warhol and Madonna. bra Appearing to live the American Dream, his high-maintenance, wheeler-dealer lifestyle became a dark path to self-destruction. At the height of his success, Volpe crashed and burned in a widely publi-cised case of art fraud. Represented by top attorneys Nathan and Alan Dershowitz (of Klaus Von Bulow trial fame), his story made international headlines and threatened to blow the lid off the secret world of art dealing.With behind-the-scenes coverage, the book gives an insight into how auctions and dealers manoeuvre art around the globe. Money laundering, trading art with drug dealers, avoiding tax, and making false insurance claims are only a taste of what is revealed as the seedier side of the art world is laid bare. Framed is a fascinatingblow-by-blow account of how the life of one man who 'had it all' spiralled out of control. Volpe learned the hard way that when you lose sight of who you really are nothing in the world.