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All That Glitters: A Story of Friendship, Fraud, and Fine Art
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.
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.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published May 22, 2024
351 people are currently reading
8603 people want to read
About the author
Orlando Whitfield
1 book25 followersORLANDO WHITFIELD is a writer and a failed art dealer based in London. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Sunday Times (UK), The Daily Telegraph, The Times Literary Supplement, The Paris Review, and British GQ. His first book, All That Glitters, was shortlisted for the Nero Book Awards 2024.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 288 reviews
August 31, 2024
In All That Glitters, British man Orlando Whitfield (b. ~1987) got a book deal for writing a memoir that's ~50% about himself, and ~50% about his over 15-year one-sided friendship with former art dealer, conman, convicted felon and "mini-Madoff" of the art world, as explored here, Inigo Philbrick (also b. 1987). The writing of this memoir is decidedly above average with surprising amounts of introspection and frequent artistic turns of phrase, though substance-wise, this book isn't anywhere near as salacious as Rachel DeLoache Williams' takedown of her former best friend who scammed her, Anna Delvey, in My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress.
Whitfield and Philbrick met in 2005 when both men matriculated at Goldsmiths, University of London, an art college. While both men came from families in the art business, Philbrick had a magnetic, celebrity-like aura about him that attracted Whitfield like a moth to a flame, and the two quickly fell into a lopsided friendship where Whitfield clamored for every iota of Philbrick's attention but Philbrick seemed largely indifferent to Whitfield. Still, Whitfield persisted for years lingering in Philbrick's shadow, even engaging in morally questionable behavior while working on art deals with Philbrick and also being scammed by Philbrick (though it seems like after many months, Whitfield recouped his losses). Despite this all, Whitfield never dumped Philbrick as a friend even after Philbrick pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, admitted the extent of his scheming, and was convicted and served federal prison time. It is a very odd, toxic dynamic that was probably the most fascinating part of the memoir; at the same time, should Philbrick ever write a memoir, I get the sense that his relationship with Whitfield would be a footnote if included at all.
Personally, I felt bad for Whitfield, who at his lowest found himself in a mental institution on suicide watch after being scammed by Philbrick, and whose debut memoir in his late 30s revolves around a man who cares little about him, rather than more interesting elements of his life.
Further reading: conmen, sociopaths and schemers
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress by Rachel DeLoache Williams
Boundless: The Rise, Fall, and Escape of Carlos Ghosn by Nick Kostov and Sean McLain
Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope
Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank Abagnale and Stan Redding
Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife by Ariel Sabar
The Less People Know About Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity by Axton Betz-Hamilton
The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time by Maria Konnikova
My statistics:
Book 198 for 2024
Book 1801 cumulatively
Whitfield and Philbrick met in 2005 when both men matriculated at Goldsmiths, University of London, an art college. While both men came from families in the art business, Philbrick had a magnetic, celebrity-like aura about him that attracted Whitfield like a moth to a flame, and the two quickly fell into a lopsided friendship where Whitfield clamored for every iota of Philbrick's attention but Philbrick seemed largely indifferent to Whitfield. Still, Whitfield persisted for years lingering in Philbrick's shadow, even engaging in morally questionable behavior while working on art deals with Philbrick and also being scammed by Philbrick (though it seems like after many months, Whitfield recouped his losses). Despite this all, Whitfield never dumped Philbrick as a friend even after Philbrick pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, admitted the extent of his scheming, and was convicted and served federal prison time. It is a very odd, toxic dynamic that was probably the most fascinating part of the memoir; at the same time, should Philbrick ever write a memoir, I get the sense that his relationship with Whitfield would be a footnote if included at all.
Personally, I felt bad for Whitfield, who at his lowest found himself in a mental institution on suicide watch after being scammed by Philbrick, and whose debut memoir in his late 30s revolves around a man who cares little about him, rather than more interesting elements of his life.
Further reading: conmen, sociopaths and schemers
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress by Rachel DeLoache Williams
Boundless: The Rise, Fall, and Escape of Carlos Ghosn by Nick Kostov and Sean McLain
Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope
Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank Abagnale and Stan Redding
Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife by Ariel Sabar
The Less People Know About Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity by Axton Betz-Hamilton
The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time by Maria Konnikova
My statistics:
Book 198 for 2024
Book 1801 cumulatively
April 23, 2025
a well-written book with an interesting story at its centre, i just don’t think the story was interesting enough to warrant this whole book. a lot of the content felt like padding just to increase the page count.
July 23, 2024
So I guess the male equivalent of girlbossing too close to the sun is called tomfoolery.
Really enjoyed this book! Well written, very engaging, insightful. Definitely helps if you’re interested in the art world because logistics and explanations abound (interesting logistics and explanations, mind you), but I would highly recommend this to the right audience.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.
Really enjoyed this book! Well written, very engaging, insightful. Definitely helps if you’re interested in the art world because logistics and explanations abound (interesting logistics and explanations, mind you), but I would highly recommend this to the right audience.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.
May 3, 2024
Almost exactly half way through the book, Whitfield is at the peak of his Icarus-like rise--the subsequent fall, which this book takes as its impetus, impending. Hosting a massively overattended gallery opening, Whitfield likens the giddy rush of success to "the dangerous, happy feeling in a dream when you think you're falling but realise instead that you are flying." Of course, in a matter of chapters Whitfield realises his first instinct was correct.
Detailing his onetime friendship with the now-convicted fraudster and Enfant terrible of the art dealing world, Inigo Philbrick, Whitfield's biography is an interesting one. It does not seek to moralistically highlight a dark underbelly of the art world with an outsider's righteousness; instead, he is frank in how he was drawn in, how "it immediately felt exciting, engaging. There was the thrill of the illicit, an encroachment into a world I didn't have the credentials for". Indeed, this sensation is palpable, of being seduced by professionally smooth-tongued inveiglers, bamboozled by backhanded deals, and the sense of smugly being accepted into a world one is not truly fit for. It is an uneasy pleasure. It is there, in the age-old trope of the narrator stumbling into the world of the wealthy, that the book's multiple 'Gatsby' comparisons rear their head, though they feel a little forced. Whitfield insists he is "encroaching into a world [he does not] have the credentials for", and early on defends his choice of Goldsmiths to avoid the "buxom Camillas and red trousered Tarquins" of Oxbridge Art History courses--conveniently forgetting for a moment that his name is Orlando for christ's sake, and his father was the head of Christie's; not quite the middling outsider, neither Nick Carraway nor Charles Ryder after all. But with the exception of these flashing moments of clunky self-fashioning, Whitfield's book is a deftly written thing, moving with the pace of a novel, the tone of an Op-Ed, and the sincere sense of disbelief and betrayal one might expect a friend in his position to feel.
Thank you to Profile for the advance copy!
Detailing his onetime friendship with the now-convicted fraudster and Enfant terrible of the art dealing world, Inigo Philbrick, Whitfield's biography is an interesting one. It does not seek to moralistically highlight a dark underbelly of the art world with an outsider's righteousness; instead, he is frank in how he was drawn in, how "it immediately felt exciting, engaging. There was the thrill of the illicit, an encroachment into a world I didn't have the credentials for". Indeed, this sensation is palpable, of being seduced by professionally smooth-tongued inveiglers, bamboozled by backhanded deals, and the sense of smugly being accepted into a world one is not truly fit for. It is an uneasy pleasure. It is there, in the age-old trope of the narrator stumbling into the world of the wealthy, that the book's multiple 'Gatsby' comparisons rear their head, though they feel a little forced. Whitfield insists he is "encroaching into a world [he does not] have the credentials for", and early on defends his choice of Goldsmiths to avoid the "buxom Camillas and red trousered Tarquins" of Oxbridge Art History courses--conveniently forgetting for a moment that his name is Orlando for christ's sake, and his father was the head of Christie's; not quite the middling outsider, neither Nick Carraway nor Charles Ryder after all. But with the exception of these flashing moments of clunky self-fashioning, Whitfield's book is a deftly written thing, moving with the pace of a novel, the tone of an Op-Ed, and the sincere sense of disbelief and betrayal one might expect a friend in his position to feel.
Thank you to Profile for the advance copy!
November 24, 2024
The writing and tone is soothing and I liked all the stuff about the how the art market works, but the central premise of this book is deeply flawed. The author seeks to understand Inigo while remaining ignorant of the most obvious characterization: Inigo is a wholly unsympathetic dirtbag. Inigo may seem uniquely exciting when encountered in cocaine-fueled college conversations but there's nothing special sounding about his salesman and snobbery personality. In fact he seems insufferable. The author is obviously smitten with him, though, which leads him to gloss over areas that sound actually interesting--Inigo fled to Miami ditching his ex wife and child--and overly romanticize Inigo's actions as the product of sharp art world practices. For example, he says nothing would have prepared the US Attorney's for the complexity of Inigo's fraud when it's a garden variety fraud that's not at all complicated. Inigo is just a basic amoral fraudster who happens to be able to talk art. Also the author seems to have had little contact with Inigo during the period Inigo was perpetrating the fraud he pleaded to, so the book offers limited insight into Inigo's ball juggling during that time which would've been the most interesting part of the story.
There are also a number of odd narrative choices. The author seems to assume the reader knows about this guy, using phrases like "much has been said about", and I felt forced to go to Wikipedia half-way through the book to understand the fraud that he kept referencing before actually explaining it. The author also repeatedly starts chapters with scenes from the past or future leading to a confusing chronology. The author includes Inigo's entire allocation though it adds nothing to our understanding. Lastly, the author unforgivably demonstrates a deep misunderstanding of the plot of Con Air, stating that no one apart from Nick Cage has ever escaped from a US Martial Service's plane.
There are also a number of odd narrative choices. The author seems to assume the reader knows about this guy, using phrases like "much has been said about", and I felt forced to go to Wikipedia half-way through the book to understand the fraud that he kept referencing before actually explaining it. The author also repeatedly starts chapters with scenes from the past or future leading to a confusing chronology. The author includes Inigo's entire allocation though it adds nothing to our understanding. Lastly, the author unforgivably demonstrates a deep misunderstanding of the plot of Con Air, stating that no one apart from Nick Cage has ever escaped from a US Martial Service's plane.
November 2, 2024
As someone who works in the auction world I was instantly drawn to this book. However, I felt slightly short-changed with the focus being less on the Inigo drama (which you're kind of led to believe), and more of Whitfield's dwindling love for the world of art dealing and ensuing existential crisis.
Whitfield's writing style leaves something to be desired, oscillating between heavy, dense, impenetrable paragraphs of text (felt like he had discovered the thesaurus) and a more down to earth "normal" writing style. Somewhat jarring as a reader.
Overall interesting read, learning more about the art market than I knew already.
Whitfield's writing style leaves something to be desired, oscillating between heavy, dense, impenetrable paragraphs of text (felt like he had discovered the thesaurus) and a more down to earth "normal" writing style. Somewhat jarring as a reader.
Overall interesting read, learning more about the art market than I knew already.
June 21, 2024
I listened to the abridged version of this on BBC Sounds and whilst it was educational and interesting - I don't think I could have read the full book. Orlando Whitfield is clearly throwing his “best friend” under the bus for a book deal! Perhaps I'm being unkind and he just needed to explain his experiences. Needless to say every word is incriminating and I do wonder if he has any self-awareness? But it is certainly an eye opener about modern art!
April 22, 2024
Very enjoyable, an entertaining real-life Great Gatsby story.
July 4, 2024
Two friends that were in Art School together. Orlando and Inigo also worked together for a short time,
making money selling paintings even before they graduated.
Inigo was flamboyant and spent money very freely. The best restaurants, travel and very convictive to sell works of art.
Orlando love art too, he just was not like his friend Inigo. Orlando mostly helped his friend Inigo keeping the art galleries open .
Inigo adjusted the prices of art to suit himself. Knowing many people and artists he kept his game going until the lies, fraud caught up with him.
He served seven years for fraud amounting to eighty six million.
I want to thank Pantheon Publishing for sending me an ARC of this book.
making money selling paintings even before they graduated.
Inigo was flamboyant and spent money very freely. The best restaurants, travel and very convictive to sell works of art.
Orlando love art too, he just was not like his friend Inigo. Orlando mostly helped his friend Inigo keeping the art galleries open .
Inigo adjusted the prices of art to suit himself. Knowing many people and artists he kept his game going until the lies, fraud caught up with him.
He served seven years for fraud amounting to eighty six million.
I want to thank Pantheon Publishing for sending me an ARC of this book.
December 12, 2024
Idk idk good book, a world I knew nothing about, engaging story, coulda survived without reading it. I do love memoirs tho
September 16, 2024
One of the pitfalls of writing nonfiction about scammers is that there are two types of people who meet the definition of a scammer: true masterminds, and desperate, greedy fools.
The former is far less common and the one that actually makes a worthy subject for a book. The latter is all too easy to find, and not especially interesting to read about. Audacity isn’t a rare trait and isn’t in and of itself particularly interesting, and that’s the flaw in All That Glitters; Its villain just isn’t worthy of the sobriquet.
Whitfield is a lovely writer, but his subject frankly didn’t deserve to have this much ink spilled on his exploits, which weren’t especially clever or intriguing. He’s just one more greedy person who thinks the rules will never apply to him, which is, quite frankly, boring.
There’s not much real art content here, and the book focuses more on the relationship between the writer and the scammer, which, while I feel sorry for Whitfield, is an inherent problem with scammer books being written by their victims. It generally winds up being more about the victims wounded feelings and ego than the scam itself. And while you can appreciate why Whitfield would feel the way he does, it doesn’t make for worthy reading.
As previously mentioned, Whitfield is a lovely writer. I wish he would put those talents toward a more worthy subject.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
The former is far less common and the one that actually makes a worthy subject for a book. The latter is all too easy to find, and not especially interesting to read about. Audacity isn’t a rare trait and isn’t in and of itself particularly interesting, and that’s the flaw in All That Glitters; Its villain just isn’t worthy of the sobriquet.
Whitfield is a lovely writer, but his subject frankly didn’t deserve to have this much ink spilled on his exploits, which weren’t especially clever or intriguing. He’s just one more greedy person who thinks the rules will never apply to him, which is, quite frankly, boring.
There’s not much real art content here, and the book focuses more on the relationship between the writer and the scammer, which, while I feel sorry for Whitfield, is an inherent problem with scammer books being written by their victims. It generally winds up being more about the victims wounded feelings and ego than the scam itself. And while you can appreciate why Whitfield would feel the way he does, it doesn’t make for worthy reading.
As previously mentioned, Whitfield is a lovely writer. I wish he would put those talents toward a more worthy subject.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
June 27, 2024
All that Glitters is exactly the kind of book that I wouldn't pick up but when I saw that Patrick Radden Keefe, the author of the tremendous
" Say Nothing" , lent his name for a blurb I was intrigued.
It turned out to be almost exactly what I expected, the story of an echelon of society that operates and functions in an excessive and illusionary manner that is almost alien. This work of non-fiction is about Indigo Philbrick, who was accused and convicted of duping investors and collectors to the tune of $86 million, and this book.is written by his former friend and partner.
It reads like a dishy, juicy fluff piece that feels low key vengeful and a cry for absolution for his soul.
Not my style but definitely a learning on how obscenely rich people live.
" Say Nothing" , lent his name for a blurb I was intrigued.
It turned out to be almost exactly what I expected, the story of an echelon of society that operates and functions in an excessive and illusionary manner that is almost alien. This work of non-fiction is about Indigo Philbrick, who was accused and convicted of duping investors and collectors to the tune of $86 million, and this book.is written by his former friend and partner.
It reads like a dishy, juicy fluff piece that feels low key vengeful and a cry for absolution for his soul.
Not my style but definitely a learning on how obscenely rich people live.
June 12, 2024
A bit self-obsessed. Also, boring in places. Not sure the author is as gullible as he tries to make himself out.
August 6, 2025
3.5 stars. Thank you to the publisher for the advanced proof copy. This book was an intriguing and generally engaging read, but I think it suffered from a bit of inaccurate marketing; this is a memoir first and foremost, which happens to explore the life and fraud of his (rather one-sided) friend Inigo Philbrick. While I enjoyed the insights into the sordid contemporary art dealing world, the stand-out parts of this book were the more introspective moments. I wish it had been more decisive in content, whether leaning more heavily into the art crime aspect or the personal memoir aspect, as this mix felt a little disingenuous at times, like it wasn’t sure what genre it wanted to be. Otherwise, this is an interesting book and I would recommend it.
September 5, 2024
In 1988, in an interview with the Village Voice, Larry Gagosian was asked what he would change about the art market.
“That,” he says with a touch of evil, “is like asking Dante what he would change about the structure of hell.”
“That,” he says with a touch of evil, “is like asking Dante what he would change about the structure of hell.”
July 13, 2024
A window on a world I knew nothing about albeit a heavily biased one. A glimpse was enough for me though.
December 27, 2024
Book 33
From his lame dedication “to my mother” to the even lamer self-description on the back cover as a “failed art dealer,” this book oozes cringe before you even open to Chapter 1…
I had a hunch it would be this bad but it’s even worse lol I followed along to this drama IRL when it was happening and this supposed “best friend” is nothing but a bored money-grabber looking for his own 15 minutes of fame and has absolutely nothing interesting to add to this years old story by this point. It’s honestly really sad that he aired out what was so obviously a one-sided relationship in which Inigo has no care for him. He seems like a whiny person “even though my father was a huge part of Christie’s and before that, Sothebys, I have nooooo idea about the art market and I was just an innocent bystander blah blah blah”
I don’t buy it! (Or if it’s true, he’s a total loser moron living in a delusion and that’s just as sad)
NEXT 👏
From his lame dedication “to my mother” to the even lamer self-description on the back cover as a “failed art dealer,” this book oozes cringe before you even open to Chapter 1…
I had a hunch it would be this bad but it’s even worse lol I followed along to this drama IRL when it was happening and this supposed “best friend” is nothing but a bored money-grabber looking for his own 15 minutes of fame and has absolutely nothing interesting to add to this years old story by this point. It’s honestly really sad that he aired out what was so obviously a one-sided relationship in which Inigo has no care for him. He seems like a whiny person “even though my father was a huge part of Christie’s and before that, Sothebys, I have nooooo idea about the art market and I was just an innocent bystander blah blah blah”
I don’t buy it! (Or if it’s true, he’s a total loser moron living in a delusion and that’s just as sad)
NEXT 👏
January 23, 2025
Extremely interesting look at the makings of a scammer. My concentration this year is on scammers and sociopaths, and I keep wondering what was the person like before they started all the scamming. But maybe there really is no "before" to this. Seems Inigo was a liar right from a very young age. Someone who possesses the power to make believe any crazy thing can accomplish impressive crimes of confidence.
October 17, 2024
i hate rich art people
December 29, 2024
The author, whose brief cover jacket bio identifies him as a failed art dealer, candidly provides an insider’s view of the dirty world of art trading. For nearly half his life, his BFF was a smooth-talking con man (currently in prison) who lived like a king while defrauding everyone around him. [Admittedly, though, it is hard to feel any sympathy for uber-rich folks who buy art sight-unseen, and stick it in a warehouse where it continues to be sight-unseen, until it can be foisted off on some other art speculator for a ridiculous price. They kind of deserve what they get.]
The art market is shaped by a select few people who decide what matters and what doesn’t. It’s “an arena where strong opinions, loudly and widely expressed, are what make a market move.” “Things that not allowed in the world of stock trading are perfectly acceptable in the world of art sales: acting on inside information, artificially inflating prices, choosing whom to sell to. There is no regulatory body; “prices are seldomly openly displayed, ownership of works is often shrouded in legal mystery… and the storage of works in bonded warehouses and freeports can allow speculators to avoid enormous sums in tax.” “But, as much as we were all lying to each other, we were all engaged in a collective act of self-delusion; deliberately choosing not to question whether these things are worth these enormous sums of money, that the market can value them in advance of history’s verdict…Because, unlike tradable concrete assets like timber or grain, trading artworks is always trading futures in the hopes that fashion will dictate their continuing rise in value.”
The art market is shaped by a select few people who decide what matters and what doesn’t. It’s “an arena where strong opinions, loudly and widely expressed, are what make a market move.” “Things that not allowed in the world of stock trading are perfectly acceptable in the world of art sales: acting on inside information, artificially inflating prices, choosing whom to sell to. There is no regulatory body; “prices are seldomly openly displayed, ownership of works is often shrouded in legal mystery… and the storage of works in bonded warehouses and freeports can allow speculators to avoid enormous sums in tax.” “But, as much as we were all lying to each other, we were all engaged in a collective act of self-delusion; deliberately choosing not to question whether these things are worth these enormous sums of money, that the market can value them in advance of history’s verdict…Because, unlike tradable concrete assets like timber or grain, trading artworks is always trading futures in the hopes that fashion will dictate their continuing rise in value.”
March 5, 2025
A fascinating look into the world of art dealing and collecting, which is something I knew very little about.
All That Glitters is a story about Inigo Philbrick, who defrauded clients, auction houses and galleries out of tens of millions of dollars. It's written by his friend and at points colleague, Orlando Whitfield.
I loved learning about a new world that I didn't know much about previously, and when Whitfield takes apart Philbrick's schemes (the pile of knots as it's referred to), it's the book at it's most interesting. But what is sold as a story about the fraud of it all is often interjected with personal anecdotes and almost memoir-esque asides from the author. You can tell it was a therapeutic process for him to write it, and I feel I just wanted a bit more of the facts of the story.
All That Glitters is a story about Inigo Philbrick, who defrauded clients, auction houses and galleries out of tens of millions of dollars. It's written by his friend and at points colleague, Orlando Whitfield.
I loved learning about a new world that I didn't know much about previously, and when Whitfield takes apart Philbrick's schemes (the pile of knots as it's referred to), it's the book at it's most interesting. But what is sold as a story about the fraud of it all is often interjected with personal anecdotes and almost memoir-esque asides from the author. You can tell it was a therapeutic process for him to write it, and I feel I just wanted a bit more of the facts of the story.
May 30, 2025
A fantastic read, which successfully pulled me into a Gatsby-esque world of deals and reinventions.
July 3, 2024
A very interesting topic. Thanks for the recommendation Debby.
December 27, 2024
Story of a man and his friend who became art dealers. He didn’t know what to do with his life and his friend knew exactly what he wanted to do. To make money selling art. And he did, by committing fraud and taking advantage of an unregulated multimillion dollar industry.
The majority of the book is about the author, but the subject is really his friend. Parts of it seemed to drag on and be irrelevant to what his friend was doing. And I had to remind myself that this is the authors story of his own experience, when large portions have nothing to do with the more intriguing portion of the story.
But also gives in excellent insight into the art world, secondary art, market, and even art restoration.
Some strong language.
The majority of the book is about the author, but the subject is really his friend. Parts of it seemed to drag on and be irrelevant to what his friend was doing. And I had to remind myself that this is the authors story of his own experience, when large portions have nothing to do with the more intriguing portion of the story.
But also gives in excellent insight into the art world, secondary art, market, and even art restoration.
Some strong language.
December 31, 2024
I actually loved this… Sort of a double (or triple) memoir of a friendship / the author / and his best friend, the latter an infamous art dealer turned scammer, now in jail. The book isn’t about retribution (or a seething expose) but rather about figuring out where his best friend went wrong - full of kindness and generosity. You’ll doubly enjoy this book if you’re interested in art and the logistics of buying, selling and conserving art.
August 20, 2024
First off, I have to say this was an interesting read. It offers a fascinating insight into a part of the art world that’s frankly a bit scandalous, and it kept me hooked.
That said, this book isn’t about the art world in general and hardly about the author, Orlando Whitfield’s, experiences within it. Instead, it’s very much focused on his supposed “best friend,” Inigo Philbrick—the art dealer convicted of fraud and stealing over $80 million from wealthy clients. Philbrick essentially carries the entire book. The relationship between Whitfield and Philbrick isn’t particularly compelling because, as Whitfield himself admits at the end, he was more of a bystander than an active participant in Philbrick’s life.
From the way Whitfield tells this story, you’d be forgiven for thinking the author was a shy, naive, bumbling young man who got as far as he did through sheer dumb luck and riding on the coattails of his charismatic and bold-as-brass best friend (that last bit is true). This is nepotism at its finest. Whitfield’s father was Managing Director of Christie’s, while Philbrick’s father was a senior director at a respected museum in the U.S. They had the connections to establish themselves in the art world before they even left university. In fairness to the author though, this doesn’t make the story less interesting, just un-relatable.
To me, it felt like the author painted (pardon the pun) himself purposefully as a mere observer—someone naive and taken in by Philbrick’s charisma, completely clueless about the crimes being committed. Not hard to see why he’s chosen this perspective but it is a bit hard to believe Whitfield was so oblivious to his closest friend’s activities, yet somehow ended up with all the incriminating evidence that led to this book (allegedly given to him by Philbrick to write an article in his defence). Hmmmm….
I’m not sure how naive Whitfield expects his readers to be when we’re sitting here reading his rather scandalous and successful book about his (former?) best friend—a friend he claims to love but is clearly willing to sell out for a book deal. Doesn’t sound like something a totally naive person would do, does it?
I feel the author doesn’t give himself enough credit; like Philbrick, he seems equally able to leverage situations and information for financial gain - he’s just able to do it within the law.
Apparently, he’s in discussions with HBO to bring it to TV. Ka-ching!
I’d watch it though!
That said, this book isn’t about the art world in general and hardly about the author, Orlando Whitfield’s, experiences within it. Instead, it’s very much focused on his supposed “best friend,” Inigo Philbrick—the art dealer convicted of fraud and stealing over $80 million from wealthy clients. Philbrick essentially carries the entire book. The relationship between Whitfield and Philbrick isn’t particularly compelling because, as Whitfield himself admits at the end, he was more of a bystander than an active participant in Philbrick’s life.
From the way Whitfield tells this story, you’d be forgiven for thinking the author was a shy, naive, bumbling young man who got as far as he did through sheer dumb luck and riding on the coattails of his charismatic and bold-as-brass best friend (that last bit is true). This is nepotism at its finest. Whitfield’s father was Managing Director of Christie’s, while Philbrick’s father was a senior director at a respected museum in the U.S. They had the connections to establish themselves in the art world before they even left university. In fairness to the author though, this doesn’t make the story less interesting, just un-relatable.
To me, it felt like the author painted (pardon the pun) himself purposefully as a mere observer—someone naive and taken in by Philbrick’s charisma, completely clueless about the crimes being committed. Not hard to see why he’s chosen this perspective but it is a bit hard to believe Whitfield was so oblivious to his closest friend’s activities, yet somehow ended up with all the incriminating evidence that led to this book (allegedly given to him by Philbrick to write an article in his defence). Hmmmm….
I’m not sure how naive Whitfield expects his readers to be when we’re sitting here reading his rather scandalous and successful book about his (former?) best friend—a friend he claims to love but is clearly willing to sell out for a book deal. Doesn’t sound like something a totally naive person would do, does it?
I feel the author doesn’t give himself enough credit; like Philbrick, he seems equally able to leverage situations and information for financial gain - he’s just able to do it within the law.
Apparently, he’s in discussions with HBO to bring it to TV. Ka-ching!
I’d watch it though!
September 15, 2024
“But, as much as we were all lying to each other, we were also all engaged in a collective act of self-delusion: deliberately choosing not to question whether these things are worth these enormous sums of money, that the market can value them in advance of history’s verdict. The money that has been injected into the contemporary market can only ever be seen as speculative at its core. Because, unlike tradable concrete assets like timber or grain, trading artworks is always trading futures in the hopes that fashion will dictate their continuing rise in value; necessity, that keystone of economic forces, does not apply. This makes the art market wildly unstable: vast sums of money change hands, often sealed by little more than a hand-shake, for assets that have no intrinsic value and whose quality has been decided by an international phalanx of tastemakers whose quixotic desires serve only their own ends. Woe betide the art market when the apocalypse arrives.”
REVIEW: If this were a book about the state of the art market with some anecdotal stories about Inigo Philbrick, art swindler, it would probably be great. But it isn’t. And it isn’t. Orlando Whitfield raises a number of salient points about the doomsday clock that is the art world, but this book wants you to believe it will be some mind-blowing madcap art-caper-thriller, but for the love of Thomas Crowne there is no plot progression - and I mean NOT A THING - related to Philbrick from page 130-260. Guys - not a single plot point!!! (I’m petty enough that I actually counted.) instead we learn about Whitfield learning to tint paper. It’s about as exciting as it sounds. By the time Philbrick returns, and Whitfield is done telling us about paper, the “climax” reads like a list of ingredients. Is this a memoir? Cos a memoir has to be interesting. It certainly isn’t a thriller. Skip this, Google Philbrick’s story, and read The Art Thief instead. 2/5
REVIEW: If this were a book about the state of the art market with some anecdotal stories about Inigo Philbrick, art swindler, it would probably be great. But it isn’t. And it isn’t. Orlando Whitfield raises a number of salient points about the doomsday clock that is the art world, but this book wants you to believe it will be some mind-blowing madcap art-caper-thriller, but for the love of Thomas Crowne there is no plot progression - and I mean NOT A THING - related to Philbrick from page 130-260. Guys - not a single plot point!!! (I’m petty enough that I actually counted.) instead we learn about Whitfield learning to tint paper. It’s about as exciting as it sounds. By the time Philbrick returns, and Whitfield is done telling us about paper, the “climax” reads like a list of ingredients. Is this a memoir? Cos a memoir has to be interesting. It certainly isn’t a thriller. Skip this, Google Philbrick’s story, and read The Art Thief instead. 2/5
September 19, 2024
The author met Inigo Philbrick at university where they both studied art history. Philbrick had his mind set on other things from the outset and soon, Whitfield is dragged into a world of dodgy art deals as Philbrick makes an astonishingly rapid rise in the contemporary art world. This is the story of how it all came undone for Philbrick told by a man who once considered him one of his closest friends. It's a car crash of a story in that you, as the reader, find that you can't look away, but it isn't pleasant. This is one of those stories where nobody in it comes out well, with the possible exception of a lovely man who is a paper restorer. It's a compelling read but I needed mind bleach afterwards.
August 24, 2024
More autobiography of Orlando Whitfield’s time in the art world, than biography of the convicted art fraud, Indigo Philbrick, this is nevertheless a thrilling read. I forgot more than once I was reading nonfiction. Orlando and Inigo’s early friendship - formed by mutual ambitions to leave their impact on the art world and discover somebody (and make some money) - is deeply impactful. Later, Inigo’s desperate turn to fraud is actually almost boring. A classic Icarus, Inigo flew too close to the $86-million sun and lied his way through it for as long as he could. The fabulous life and disappointing demise of a fine art dealer.
January 16, 2025
In the end, the story of Inigo Philbrick's skullduggery and fraud is only lightly sketched - it's almost a coda to the book. But what makes Whitfield's surprisingly well-written book quite engrossing and worthwhile is the story it tells about a friendship between a high-flyer and a more introspective troubled sort as well as the insight it gives into how the contemporary art business functions. Whitfield ably conveys time and place, and if we are sometimes left with a lot of unanswered questions, I was never bored listening to it.
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