All That Glitters: A Story of Friendship, Fraud and Fine Art

Name: All That Glitters: A Story of Friendship, Fraud and Fine Art
SKU: 89444
Availability: InStock

₦27,000.00

A BBC Radio 4 ‘Book of the Week’

‘One of the hottest memoirs of 2024’ Sunday Times Style

‘An art world Great Gatsby, deliciously withering and dishy.’ Patrick Radden Keefe

‘Explosive … the inside story of the biggest art fraud in American history’ Guardian

‘Liar’s Poker, but for art’ Economist

‘A brilliant, devastating exposé’ William Boyd

DECEPTION IS A FINE ART.

When Orlando Whitfield first meets Inigo Philbrick, they are students dreaming of dealing art for a living. Their friendship lasts for fifteen years until one day, Inigo – by then the most successful dealer of his generation – disappears, accused of a fraud so gigantic and audacious it rocks the art world to its core.

A sparklingly sharp memoir of greed, ambition and madness, All That Glitters will take you to the heart of the contemporary art world, a place wilder and wealthier than you could ever imagine.

4 in stock

Product Description

Review

Exhilarating... Orlando Whitfield tells the story of his former friend’s downfall in thrilling detail… Compulsively readable — Kathryn Hughes ― Guardian

A laceratingcritique of the contemporary art market … All That Glittersis as compulsive as a thriller. It is literary dynamite – a blazingexposé that cracks open an elite sphere cloaked in mystery and lays it mercilessly bare ― Spectator

A jaw-dropping romp through the absurd world of art dealing… All That Glitters is a hell of a read. ― Irish Independent on Sunday

Like “Liar’s Poker”, but for art ― The Economist

The culture of discretion that enshrouds the art market obscures a multitude of sins, so it is bracing (and great fun) to watch Orlando Whitfield flout the code of silence to name names, cite prices, and reveal scams. All That Glitters is an art world GREAT GATSBY, deliciously withering and dishy, a parable about the price of beauty, the power of charisma, and the limits of friendship. — Patrick Radden Keefe, author of ― Empire of Pain

An elegy for a friendship ... exceptionally accomplished … Whitfield exposes the dubious financial mores of the very highest end of the contemporary market ― Times Literary Supplement

A highly readable and perceptive account of how contemporary art is bought and sold — Philip Hook ― Sunday Telegraph

Ultra-vivid… it reads like a true crime documentary ― i Paper, Nonfiction Book of the Month

Readers drawn to the book’s promise of an insider’s recollections of the art-dealing ecosystem will not be disappointed ― The Art Newspaper

Whitfield writes beguilingly and amusingly, enhanced by an art dealer’s eye … made me laugh out loud — Nancy Durrant ― Evening Standard

The art world revealed in this delicious, sharp and often breathtaking memoir is one of excess and illusion those of us outside it can barely imagine, and Whitfield unveils it nimbly and wisely. Funny, juicy, wistful and sad, it’s destined to be one of the books of 2024 — Megan Nolan, author ― Ordinary Human Failings

Philbrick’s story serves as a means for Whitfield masterfully to illuminate the opaque and mysterious art world for readers, explaining the shady operations of the commercial gallery system, the role and place of auction houses and, above all, the transformation of art into an asset class and a vehicle for investment: a mere entry on a ledger. For anybody curious to learn the grubby reality of the art market, Whitfield’s memoir makes for essential reading. — Matthew Mason ― The Tablet

Completely jaw-dropping and unputdownable — ‘The best new books to read in May 2024’ ― i News

Explosive … the inside story of the biggest art fraud in American history ― Guardian

The book of the year ― The Fence

One of the hottest memoirs of 2024 ― Sunday Times Style

Highly personal … an excellent account of how Philbrick rose to a jet-setting, cocaine-and-champagne fuelled lifestyle ― Literary Review

A wry, sparkling memoir … All That Glitters is a veritable masterpiece ― Spears Magazine

I cannot conceive of a better book about the grisly nature of the art world than this… Hugely entertaining — Nicolas Lezard ― The Oldie

A story about art, the art market and disillusionment ― ArtReview

Book Description

Welcome to the contemporary art world: a ruthless and glamorous arena, where the rewards are limitless – if you can pay the price.

About the Author

Orlando Whitfield graduated from Goldsmiths University in 2009. He started dealing art while still a student, and worked in and around the art market for fifteen years. His writing has appeared in the Paris Review and the White Review. All That Glitters is his first book.