Driven to Abstraction unravels a mutating tale of self-delusion, greed, and fraud– the $80 million forgery scandal that rocked the art world and brought down Knoedler, New York City’s oldest and most venerable gallery. Was the gallery’s esteemed director the victim of a con artist who showed up with an endless treasure trove of previously unseen abstract expressionist masterpieces? Or did she eventually suspect they were fakes, yet continue to sell them for many millions of dollars for fifteen years? Whatever the truth, two women from very different worlds were, wittingly or not, caught up in the greatest hoax ever of Modern American Art.
Chuck says: I cannot recall a film that drops you into the middle of a story the way this documentary from Daria Price. Unless you have a background as to the how the world of high art works and are familiar with the movers and shakers of New York City, you’re likely to be lost. However, patience does have its rewards as eventually the story straightens out and proves quiet interesting as the machinations behind this intriguing forgery caper is revealed.
