Basquiat Forger Arrested By FBI
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, December 16, 2025


Basquiat Forger Arrested By FBI



NEW YORK.- New York artist Alfredo Martinez has been charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with attempting to deceive two art dealers by selling them $185,000 worth of fake drawings by the famed graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Martinez, a 300-pound Puerto Rico native, is wellknown on the downtown alternative scene. He has also organized large group exhibitions in vacant industrial spaces, including "Playground of the Fearless" in Brooklyn in late 2001. The charges against Martinez, which landed him in Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correction Center on June 19, 2002, involve an alleged scheme to sell fake Basquiat drawings, accompanied by forged certificates of authenticity, to SoHo dealer Leo Malca and a second art dealer. Martinez’ whereabouts could not be determined, but it has been suggested that Martinez is a "con artist" in more ways than one, and would use his arrest to seek notoriety.











Today's News

December 16, 2025

The Prado honors its founding queen with a new permanent space

Christie's Stern family collection sale achieves nearly €14.5 million, far exceeding estimates

Whitney Biennial 2026 announces 56 artists exploring relationality and contemporary American life

SJ Auctioneers to close out 2025 with a 270-lot online toys, jewelry and silverware auction on December 28

MoCA\CT names Robin Jaffee Frank new Executive Director

Exhibition revisits postwar Japanese art through women artists

New director appointed at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Kunsthalle Recklinghausen marks its 75th anniversary with the collection-based exhibition "Affinities"

From Estonian modernism to Mount Fuji: Dulwich Picture Gallery unveils its 2026 exhibitions

Manuscripts relating to the brothers of Jane Austen on display for the first time

From photo booths to porous selves: MACBA explores thirty years of collective and personal identity

The spirit of Bizkaia examines faith, society and art at the turn of the 20th century

Kunsthal Charlottenborg unveils its 2026 programme exploring nature, community and technology

The Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basque Country, Artium Museoa presents its 2025-2026 programme

Historic photographs of Boma return to the Congo River in a new open-air exhibition

Kunstmuseum Bern unveils a 2026 programme of rediscoveries, from Old Masters to Franz Gertsch

Architecture as lyric experience in Ingeborg Kuhler's exhibition at Tchoban Foundation

Newfields appoints Kenneth Brummel as Curator of European Art

Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum presents its 2026-27 programme

Kistefos unveils a 2026 programme centered on the renewed power of painting




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 




Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)


Editor: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful