The life of Richard Dorment (Exhibitionist), a historian, scholar, journalist, and exhibition curator, became linked forever to that of Andy Warhol's when art collector Joe Simon called him to ask why two of his Warhol pieces had been denied by authenticators. Warhol After Warhol: Secrets, Lies, & Corruption in the Art World, in which Dorment chronicles the lives of Warhol, Simon, the Andy Warhol Authentication Board authenticators, and more key figures in his search for the truth, explores why Simon's Red Self-Portrait was defaced with the red stamped word "DENIED." As Dorment states: "The Board operated in secret, refusing to let owners or scholars know the evidence or reasoning behind its decisions. Answerable only to the president of the Foundation, its authority was absolute." Thus branded, Simon's portrait was deemed unauthentic and virtually worthless.
Dorment's book is an important contribution to art history that also reads like an entertaining, suspenseful mystery. His vigilant attention to detail lays bare the case's complications: the limited knowledge of trusted authenticators; the unconventional working methods of Warhol's later years; and the obscured corruption of the buying, selling, and even making of Warhol's art after his death. To protect the legacy of one of the most important figures in contemporary art, Dorment delves into who can claim Warhol's authenticity--and how. Simon's obsession and Dorment's dedication to proving the portrait's authenticity propel the story of misinformation and deception in the art world toward uncovering the long-obscured history of perhaps Warhol's most important works. --Clara Newton, freelance reviewer