I have been fascinated by art for years but while I have wailed on many occasions "Not an artistic bone in my body!” I do enjoy tales of skulduggery and ‘economy with the ethics’ in the art world.
In the memoir All That Glitters, Orlando Whitfield recounts his complex friendship with disgraced art dealer Inigo Philbrick. Sufficiently disgraced that the FBI found their interest piqued and there was the not so small matter of $86 million. Moolah, allegedly, missing in action after many dodgy deals. It is a personal reflection and a cautionary tale about the unregulated, high-stakes world of the art market.
Whitfield and Philbrick met as students at Goldsmiths and became friends. While it is Whitfield’s tale, he paints his pedestrian progress as a contrast to the more charismatic and ambitious Philbrick driven to make high-value deals.
It is easy to feel comfortable with the predicament of folk so rich and foolish that they do not know they are being played. What is not so easy to accept is the effect on the cast of lesser players.
The book details how Philbrick's web of lies began to unravel, leading to his disappearance in 2019 amidst mounting lawsuits and accusations of fraud. He fled to the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, eventually detained and delivered to the hands of the FBI in 2020. Whitfield, meanwhile, faced his own personal and professional breakdown, which led to him being on suicide watch in a psychiatric ward. This period of intense disillusionment with the art world forced him to re-evaluate his life and his relationship with Philbrick. He realized that his friend's deception was not just a series of victimless crimes but a ruthless exploitation of those around him.
Whitfield uses the story to explore themes of ambition, greed, and the seductive nature of a world where appearances often hide sordid truths. It is a critique of the art market itself, exposing its "feckless" wealth and lack of regulation.
