Update: FBI’s Raid of the Orlando Museum of Art

On June 24^th, 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the Orlando Museum of Art, seizing all 25 paintings in the museum’s Heroes & Monsters: Jean-Michel Basquiat, The Thaddeus Mumford, Jr. Venice Collection exhibition amid questions concerning the art’s authenticity. There are many pieces of evidence pointing to the paintings’ illegitimacy. First and foremost, one of the paintings features a FedEx box with a printed typeface not used by the company until 1994—12 years after the painting’s alleged creation and six years after Basquiat’s death. Moreover, up until their exhibition, the paintings were kept in a storage locker by owner Thad Mumford; they were only auctioned off when Mumford failed to pay his storage payments, begging the question of why he didn’t sell them to make millions in the first place. 

‍

Nevertheless, museum officials maintain that the art is authentic, with former director and chief executive Aaron de Groft stating in a New York Times interview, “I’ve absolutely no doubt these are Basquiats… my reputation is at stake as well.” De Groft was ousted four days following the raid, but prominent members of the city’s art community, including Rollins Museum of Art director Ena Heller, immediately began calling for more action against the museum as a whole: “This did not begin and end with Aaron De Groft,” Heller said. “He reported to a board that has oversight, that has fiduciary responsibility for that museum.”

‍

In late January of 2023, the American Alliance of Museums—one of the most renowned museum accreditation groups in the nation— officially placed the Orlando Museum of Art on probation. Complete expulsion from this group would have drastic consequences for the museum, including challenges with making loans and borrowing artwork. In response, the museum released a statement claiming that it “remains fully accredited and has been a member in good standing of AAM since 1971” and that it is “working with the AAM to remove [its] probationary status and expect to remain in good standing.”

‍

Currently, the investigation is ongoing as the FBI continues to interview people in the art and design world, as well as museum staff who have been granted anonymity. On March 6^th, 2023, long-time chief curator Hansen Mulford stepped down after 42 years of work, without any prior announcement to the public or even museum staff. On the day of his retirement, an internal announcement was circulated to the museum, thanking Mulford for his decades of service. Mulford will continue to serve as a temporary consultant to the Museum's 2023 Florida Prize in Contemporary Art for a limited period of time. Still, this incident continues to haunt the art world, with many collectors, critics, and museum directors such as Heller demanding a more open, thorough investigation: “There’s a reckoning that ought to happen there. What happened at the Orlando Museum of Art has put us all back by many years. There are people in the community who are very angry. Rightly so.”