Bloomberg reports on dealer Yves Bouvier, whose arrest earlier this year over alleged price inflation in the $186 million sale of a Mark Rothko reflects the warnings offered earlier this year by economist Ariel Roubini: “There are a number of serious distortions in the art market that suggest that there is some shady behavior going on.  Price opacity in the art market leads to insider information, which makes insider trading in art far more likely.” (more…)

After months of investigation and court proceedings, Long Island dealer Glafira Rosales has plead guilty to the sale of over $30 million in fake artworks attributed to Rothko, Pollock, and others. Rosales also plead guilty to charges of fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion in a New York courtroom Monday.  “I agreed with others to sell works of art claimed to be created by various expressionist artists including Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Robert Motherwell, and to make false representations as to the authenticity and provenance of those works,” Rosales said. “These works of art were actually fakes created by an individual residing in Queens.” (more…)

British artist Graham Ovenden has been convicted of sexual abuse charges, stemming from accusations by former models for the artist over a number of years in London and Cornwall.  While Ovenden, who has had exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, has flatly denied the charges, the Truro Crown Court has convicted him of six counts of sexual indecency with a child, and one of indecent assault.  When asked why they had not come forth earlier, one complainant’s mother replied: “I thought if I went to police, she wouldn’t be believed; if I went and confronted Graham myself, he would have flatly denied it. I thought there was nothing to be achieved but a lot of stress for my child.” (more…)