Orlando Whitfield All That Glitters: A Story of Friendship, Fraud and Fine Art

About

This talk, which is based on the Radio 4 book of the week gives a dazzling insider’s account of the contemporary art world and the stunning rise and fall of the charismatic American art dealer Inigo Philbrick, as seen through the eyes of his former friend and fellow dealer.

The book is in development as a series for the American pay television network ‘HBO’.

Orlando Whitfield and Inigo Philbrick met in 2006 at London’s Goldsmiths University where they became best friends. By 2007 they had started I&O Fine Art.

Orlando would eventually set up his own gallery and watch as Inigo quickly immersed himself in a world of private jets and multimillion-dollar deals for major clients. Inigo seemed brilliant, but underneath the extravagant façade, his complicated financial schemes were unravelling. With debt, lawsuits, and court summonses piling up, Inigo went into a tailspin of lies and subterfuge. At around the same time, Orlando would himself experience a nervous breakdown and leave the art world for good. By 2019 things had spiralled enough out of control for Inigo to flee to the remote island nation of Vanuatu, 300 miles west of Fiji. Within a year, he was arrested by the FBI and extradited to America, where he was sentenced to seven years in prison for having committed more than $86 million in fraud.

This talk describes what is at once a shocking and compulsive story of ambition and downfall, a cautionary tale, and an intimate portrait of friendship and its loss.

Orlando Whitfield graduated from Goldsmiths University in 2009. He started dealing art while still a student and worked in and around the art market for fifteen years. His writing has appeared in the Paris Review and the White Review. All That Glitters is his first book.

Kellie Miller is an international artist, curator, critic and gallery owner. Kellie Miller Arts (KMA) is an award-winning gallery representing and supporting over 100 artists.

A Q&A Session will follow.