This book is a terrific blend of true crime, scandal and art history. The story of a woman who walked into one of the most famous art galleries in the world and convinced one of the most respected art dealers her forged painting was the real deal. Which lead to an $80 million dollar forgery ring that lasted years and pulled in/tricked many of the best art historians, authenticators and art connoisseurs. The cast of characters was fantastic and the book's organization and research was detailed and clearly outlined. I listened to the audio version of this book, which was expertly narrated by the author, Ben Avrich. He also directed the documentary about this case "Made You Look".

Great story, well researched. I enjoyed learning more about this story I read in the news headlines. As a former member of the art world this was a fascinating read.

Documentarian Barry Avrich takes readers on a deep dive into the massive forgery that brought the Knoedler Gallery down a decade ago, and still has repercussions in the art world today. Following his journey in the film, "Made You Look," Avrich takes a more pointed view on art fakes and who he believes was responsible.

This is a great read for anyone interested in art, forgeries, and true crime.

Review of *The Devil Wears Rothko: Inside the Art Scandal that Rocked the World* by Barry Avrich

Barry Avrich delivers a gripping true-crime investigation into the infamous Knoedler Gallery art fraud—a scandal that saw over \$80 million in fake Abstract Expressionist masterpieces sold to top collectors and institutions. Avrich’s narrative reads like a thriller, balancing meticulous research with a storyteller's flair.

I received a copy of audiobook to review for NetGalley ARC. It appears this book serves best as a companion to the author’s documentary that’s available to stream. In audiobook form, it is a little difficult to follow the crime trail. As the reader, we are never 100% certain if the art dealer was aware of the fake painting scam, however the author clearly explains the benefits to the art world as a whole to accept fakes. An interesting fact I learned is that known fakes would be submitted to the authentication process in order to learn facts about how they determine a painting to be real. The story jumps around the characters and many players are often referred to by their last names only. Painting is such a visual art form that the audiobook format doesn’t fully work here. The book is just under 5 hours and set up to read like a podcast. Very interesting but it would help to know about this crime in the art world at least perfunctorily prior to listening.

I absolutely LOVED this book!! I don't read as much non-fiction, but this book was so well written it felt like a work of fiction. I kept expecting a murder twist like it was a thriller!

I love modern art, but I had never heard of this scandal (probably because I'm 33 and would have been too "young" to remember it). It was incredibly fascinating and I honestly cannot wait to see the movie he made as well.

I highly recommend if you're also a big modern art fan!

On the heels of Barry Avrich's 2020 film documentary, Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art, Avrich once again takes on the underhanded dealings of the New York City art market, including the galleries, dealers, artists and collectors who make up this exclusive and enigmatic world. The author presents the story of a long-term and high-end art scandal is layman's terms and sets the stage by explaining the history of art dealing and collecting in New York, focusing on the distinguished Knoedler Gallery, the scene of the crime. The book covers the same territory as the film, relating a compelling high stakes swindle which leaves readers flabbergasted at the intricacies and nuances involved in selling millions of dollars worth of art forgeries, created by an unknown artist who may have been unaware of the magnitude of the situation, and barely profited from it, while art dealers and galleries pocketed a fortune. Avrich's narration is lively and engaging, and this true crime audiobook is highly recommended for all readers who enjoy listening to the exploits of the rich and privileged, getting their comeuppance at the end.

I watched this film on Netflix and loved it. This book is a great addition to the story.

I really like that the structure allowed for more insight into the trial and the con artists. The film has to set up that the art is fake as a reveal but this book starts with that fact. It allows us to look at motivations and how the con artist became so successful in so much more depth.

I also really loved the history this book provides and the coverage of the trials that ensued. This book is short and sweet and so intriguing!

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for an advanced audiobook copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

There is a documentary called "Made You Look" which is about an art scandal that closed the 100 year old Knodler Gallery in New York. It was fascinating and I loved it. "The Devil Wears Rothko" is the book written by the director of the documentary, about the story underlying the documentary. I've always been fascinated with art crime and this story is so good.

A woman walks into the gallery with a painting. She claims it's from her dead uncle's collection and she wants to sell it. The gallery staff have the painting looked at, determine it's authenticity, and pay the women. So begins the relationship between the conwoman and the Knodler. Turns out the painting was forged by a man in China and the women and her husband, living in Spain, have developed a scam to get millions of dollars for forged art. The ensuing scandal brought down the gallery and rocked the art world.

This is a good book. It covers the same ground as the documentary, but is still really good and contains some additional details left out of the movie. If you're into art theft and true crime, you will enjoy this book.

Being a part of the art world, I couldn’t resist this read, which follows one of the largest art frauds and related to one of the nation’s most preeminent galleries.

I enjoyed the documentary (Made you Look) by Barry Avrich, and the book was equally fascinating. Written for those not acquainted with the art world and the art market, it makes for a fascinating true crime story.

The story takes you step-by-step and adds in context about forgeries on the market as a whole. I am fascinated by this story partly because I can’t tell whether the cause was greed, negligence, or Hubert’s (or a combination of these).

Overall, a great and quick read. The narrator being the author himself also really brought the story to life.

Thanks to #RBMedia and #Netgalley for an ALC.

This was a well-researched, thorough look into the downfall of the Knoedler Gallery. I listened to this in a day because it was so good. If you enjoyed Sour Grapes on Netflix, this is for you.

The story was very exciting and fun. If you are interested in art (particularly modern art) you will really enjoy this deep dive into a precarious and extremely high stakes world.

There were a few moments where the book was a bit repetitive, but otherwise a fun read.

This is a poorly-written, poorly-edited, poorly-narrated, and self-agrandizing recounting of a fascinating art forgery case. While the facts of the story, the history of the gallery, and its larger situation within an often-opaque art world are incredibly compelling, the telling of the story is marred by a gossipy, salacious tone and the author is often too busy discussing his own feats convincing people to participate in interviews or infiltrating the art world and misses why the story matters beyond an opportunity to tell a true crime story. Narratorial tics like extensive, repetitive lists of artists; numbering key points (rather than actually making them); mis-pronouncing artists, names, and technical terms; and near-constant use of cliche film quotes and comparisons to Hollywood further detract from the narrative. At one point, he even suggests readers skip the opening chapters to get right to the story. That was an early cue to the dismissive attitude of the author to both readers and his subject. I think this book particularly pales in comparison to more recent, thoughtful, and journalistic approaches to art history, particularly Bianca Bosker's Get the Picture. There's no authentic curiosity about the art world and the investments, financial, intellectual, emotional, etc. people have in it - it's all prurient gossip and scandal. And there's no respect for the art, artists, and broader history (including Nazi art looting) that forms the backdrop for the crime story. This is more a narcissistic narrative exercise for the author than a compelling, researched exploration of art fraud. This book isn't worth the time.

Books like this are the reason I love non-fiction. It was dramatic and suspenseful and kept me captivated the entire time. You can tell Barry is full invested in this story. Absolutely fascinating.

As someone obsessed with true crime and especially art crimes, I was so excited to start Avrich’s dive into the demise of the Knoedler Gallery.
Despite already knowing a bit about the case, there were several gaps I knew I had about the case and wanted to clarify for myself, and countless I didn’t even knew I was wondering about, and the author covered all of them so incredibly well.

The whole case is so fascinating, and Avrich wrote this in a way that is so easy to follow and get sucked into, and did a great job in making you feel like you understand the whole fraud like you were there watching from the sidelines.
You get sucked not just into the Knoedler case, but also into the world of art and forgeries and I had so much fun reading this that I’m gutted I ran out of pages.

A really fun and interesting read.
You don’t have to be an art expert to enjoy this book just perhaps an interest in crime, a good story and/ or fraud.
Easy to follow and we don’t spend too long getting stuck in the weeds which is great. I’d say the author also does a great job of staying neutral and presents the facts from a variety of different view points.
The author also does a great job of narrating the book

4.5/5 rounded up.

Oh my goodness, I loved this! I have been listening to it non-stop since I woke up this morning.

I remember loving the documentary that this is a follow up to when I watched it a few years ago, so I was so excited to listen to this (I read it via audiobook).

This book included some of the same information as the documentary but not in a way that felt repetitive, he just reminded you of what we're talking about. This also goes a little more in depth on some people were interviewed (and some who did not want to be interviewed for the movie), examples of other art forgery situations, the history of art forgeries, and the history of the gallery that this situation occurred at.

And oh my. This place does not have nearly as clean and reputable of a reputation as it wants you to believe. From selling forgeries at the start to selling art that was obviously stolen by Nazis from Jews during WWII.

Also, it kind of sounded like he was saying "Noodler" instead of Knoedler and that made me giggle. (A random and unimportant detail.)

I just love art and learning about it, I love learning interesting things, and learning about crimes - so this was perfect for me! I highly recommend for anyone who likes true crime content, art content or just anyone who wants to learn more about a world they know very little about. As an art girlie myself, I really enjoyed this and NEED more like it. Highly recommend watching the documentary and then giving this a read for even more detail and tangential stories/information.

And I really liked how this book ended: a very nice sentiment that you should purchase art because you like it, not just because it holds some sort of prestige or massive monetary value. I agree. Have your own taste and form your own opinions on art.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

The story of one of the most expensive art scandals in history.
If you’ve seen the documentary (Made You Look, 2020) on this story (both by the author) then you probably won’t get much new information from the book. The biggest difference is that the author also discusses how he prepped for the film, including insight into his interview process.
Part of me wishes that the story was more in depth, but I can see how it’s current form would appeal to more readers.
Author did a solid job of narrating his own book.

Barry Avrich’s The Devil Wears Rothko offers a gripping deep dive into one of the most explosive art scandals of our time, peeling back the layers of deception, ambition, and manipulation that rocked the global art world. With a filmmaker’s flair for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, Avrich unpacks the tangled web of forged masterpieces, shady dealers, and complicit institutions that allowed the scandal to flourish. The book is both an exposé and a meditation on the fragility of authenticity in a market driven by prestige and profit. Fast-paced, meticulously researched, and sharply observant, it reads like a thriller—yet it’s all chillingly real. Whether you're an art lover or just fascinated by high-stakes intrigue, this is a riveting and revealing read.

„The Devil Wears Rothko“ by Barry Avrich is a very informative and compelling „crime thriller“ (as the author calls it) about an incredible art fraud case that leads to the downfall and closing of one of the United States oldest art dealerships and galleries, the Knoedler Gallery.

The Author Barry Avrich created a documentary called „Made You Look“ about this exact case, which was published on Netflix in 2020. The book discusses the fraud scandal and also offers additional information and insight that apparently goes beyond the contents of the documentary. (I have not seen the documentary yet but I am planning to watch it very soon!)

The book is very engaging and dives into the history of the Knoedler Gallery. It also offers in-depth explanations of the inner workings of the art world and also terminologies such as „provenance“ etc., which are important aspects when it comes to art pieces and trying to prove their authenticity.
I think that this book is overall very interesting and very gripping. It was fascinating to see how this scandal came to be and how complex and intricate this case really is. What I personally also appreciated was the mentioning of art works that were looted and stolen by the Nazi Regime and how those art pieces are still circulating around in the art world, even though they are considered stolen art. I don’t think a lot of people are actually aware of this and how many people are fighting to gain back the ownership of art works that were unrightfully taken from their families back in the Third Reich.

The author of the book is also the narrator of the audiobook. I personally think that he did a great job narrating it.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for giving me access to this books audiobook ARC! ^^