In practice, the ethical codes published by art associations are more ceremonial than enforceable. Getty

From all the professional codes of ethics that exist in the numerous associations of people involved in the arts, one might guess that the art sphere is a well-policed realm of integrity. And perhaps it is, the periodic reports of some art advisor or dealer or appraiser admitting to some crime notwithstanding. Last fall, art advisor Lisa Schiff pleaded guilty in federal court for stealing $6.5 million from clients, while Nevada art appraiser Michael Jon Schofield admitted in court that he had inflated the value of several artworks as part of an insurance fraud. Currently, South Florida art dealer Leslie Roberts faces charges of selling fake Andy Warhols (and another was convicted of the same crime two years earlier). And New York dealer Inigo Philbrick sits in prison for stealing $86 million from clients, while the once reigning “Queen of the Art Scene” Mary Boone must occupy herself in some way after closing her two New York art galleries following her conviction for tax evasion back in 2019.

Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter

Thank you for signing up!

By clicking submit, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime.

To be fair, Lisa Schiff was never a member of the Association of Professional Art Advisors, nor was Inigo Philbrick part of the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA). Mary Boone, however, was a member of ADAA, as were Larry Salander (who pleaded guilty in 2010 to stealing more than $100 million from clients and investors) and Knoedler & Co. (which closed in 2012 after a series of lawsuits from clients claimed that forty multi-million-dollar abstract expressionist paintings they had purchased from the gallery were all forgeries). Boone, Salander and Knoedler had all been members in good standing of the dealers association, which promptly threw them out after the two gallery owners pleaded guilty and the Knoedler gallery was shuttered.

So, can we applaud the art advisors association for not including Lisa Schiff and the dealers association for not having Inigo Philbrick as a member, or was it just dumb luck? And did the criminal activities of Boone, Salander and Knoedler really come as a surprise to other members of the ADAA?

Membership in certain associations does confer status—presumably there are requirements for membership,........

© Observer