Research Catalog

The isolation artist : scandal, deception, and the last days of Robert Indiana

Title
The isolation artist : scandal, deception, and the last days of Robert Indiana / Bob Keyes.
Author
Keyes, Bob, 1962-
Publication
  • Boston : Godine, 2021.
  • ©2021

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextUse in library JQD 21-311Schwarzman Building - Art and Architecture Room 300

Details

Description
242 pages; 21 cm
Summary
"When reclusive, millionaire artist Robert Indiana died in 2018, he left behind dark rumors and scandal, as well as an estate embroiled in lawsuits and facing accusations of fraud. Here is the true story of the artist's final days, the aftermath, the deceptive world that surrounded him, and the inner workings of art as very big business. "I'm an artist, not a business man," Robert Indiana said, refusing to copyright his iconic LOVE sculpture in 1965. An odd and tortured soul, an artist who wanted both fame and solitude, Indiana surrounded himself with people to manage his life and work. Yet, he frequently changed his mind and often fired or belittled those who worked with him. By 2008, when Indiana created the sculpture HOPE-or did he?-the artist had signed away his work for others to exploit, creating doubt about whether he had even seen artwork sold for very high prices under his name. At the time of his death, Indiana left an estate worth millions-and unsettling suspicions. There were allegations of fraudulent artwork, of elder abuse, of caregivers who subjected him to horrendous living conditions. There were questions about the inconclusive autopsy and rumors that his final will had been signed under coercion. There were strong suspicions about the freeloaders who'd attached themselves to the famous artist. "In the final hours of his life," the author writes, "Robert Indiana was without the grace of a better angel, as the people closest to him covered their tracks and plotted their defenses." With unparalleled access to the key players in Indiana's life, author Bob Keyes tells a fast-paced and riveting story that provides a rare inside look into the life of an artist as well as the often, too often, unscrupulous world of high-end art. The reader is taken inside the world of art dealers, law firms, and an array of local characters in Maine whose lives intersected with the internationally revered artist living in an old Odd Fellows Hall on Vinalhaven Island. The Last Days of Robert Indiana is for anyone interested in contemporary art, business, and the perilous intersection between them. It an extraordinary window into the life and death of a singular and contradictory American artist-one whose work touched countless millions through everything from postage stamps to political campaigns to museums-even as he lived and died in isolation, with a lack of love, the loss of hope, and lots and lots of money"--
Subject
  • Indiana, Robert, 1928-2018 > Last years
  • Indiana, Robert, 1928-2018
  • 2000-2099
  • Artists > United States > Biography
  • Art and society > United States > History > 21st century
  • Authors, American > Maine
  • Artists > Maine > Biography
  • Art and society
  • Artists
  • Last years of a person's life
  • United States
Genre/Form
  • Biographies.
  • History.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references.
Call Number
JQD 21-311
ISBN
  • 9781567926897
  • 1567926894
LCCN
2021015114
OCLC
1245957813
Author
Keyes, Bob, 1962- author.
Title
The isolation artist : scandal, deception, and the last days of Robert Indiana / Bob Keyes.
Publisher
Boston : Godine, 2021.
Copyright Date
©2021
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
Chronological Term
2000-2099
Other Form:
Online version: Keyes, Bob, 1962- Isolation artist Boston : Godine, 2021 9781567926903 (DLC) 2021015115
Research Call Number
JQD 21-311
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