Two compelling narratives, one fact, one fiction, explore deception, ambition, and the fragile boundaries between authenticity and illusion in the rarefied worlds of art and fashion. In The Devil Wears Rothko, acclaimed filmmaker and author Barry Avrich tells the true story of the stunning $80 million forgery scandal that brought down one of New York’s most prestigious galleries, the Knoedler Gallery. With insider accounts and newly uncovered evidence, Avrich exposes how charisma, trust, and spectacle were manipulated to devastating effect. In Margaret’s New Look, novelist and journalist, Katherine Ashenburg crafts a gripping literary mystery set in a major museum on the cusp of launching a landmark Christian Dior exhibition. As objects begin to vanish and family secrets surface, Ashenburg explores identity, heritage, and the tensions between curatorial authority and institutional politics.
Moderated by Emily Donaldson.
Fashion, mystery, and politics combine in this delectable, pacey novel set in a big-city museum where an ambitious curator is launching a controversial exhibition of Christian Dior's "New Look."
At work, Margaret is the well-regarded curator of fashion for a big-city museum. At home, she is the mother of lively twin girls, the spouse of a successful mystery-book author, and a daughter still grieving the recent death of her beloved father.
The Devil Wears Rothko charts the explosive demise of Knoedler Gallery, one of New York’s oldest and most prestigious art galleries, with detailed and salacious insight into the art fraud scandal of the century.
The Devil Wears Rothko charts the explosive demise of Knoedler Gallery, one of New York’s oldest and most prestigious art galleries, with detailed and salacious insight into the art fraud scandal of the century. From the moment an eccentric woman walked into the Knoedler Gallery with a Mark Rothko painting, everyone was fooled.
Katherine Ashenburg is the author of several books and many magazine and newspaper articles. She has written for
The New York Times,
The Globe and Mail, and
Toronto Life, among other publications.
Barry Avrich is a veteran documentary filmmaker and producer that has directed and produced over fifty films including Made You Look, Born Hungry, Prosecuting Evil, Blurred Lines, and David Foster: Off The Record. Avrich has authored five books including Moguls, Monsters and Madmen (2017) and built the world’s first movie theater in a hospital.
Source: Simon & Schuster Canada
Sun, June 29, 2025
A book signing will follow this event