Art-Forgery Trial Set To Begin
On the verge of a trial over the art-forgery scandal that sank one of New York’s most venerable galleries, this much, at least, is agreed upon: The black-and-red painting that sold for more than $8 million in 2004 is definitely not by Mark Rothko. Whether that fact was known by Ann Freedman, the former president of Knoedler & Co., who sold the work to the family of Sotheby’s Chairman Domenico De Sole, is another matter. On Monday, Mr. De Sole and his wife, Eleanore, will square off in Manhattan federal court against Ms. Freedman and her former employer in a fraud and racketeering lawsuit.
