by Bryan Cooke (Author)
Art Can Kill offers a window into the lives of celebrity and contemporary art figures, including stories of Larry Gagosian, Larry Flynt, Dr. Armand Hammer, Joan Rivers, Norton Simon, Frank Gehry, and many more.
As an art handler who moves million-dollar works for a living, the author is often mistaken as "just a delivery boy," giving him an unfiltered peek into some of the strangest and darkest corners of the art world. From vain movie stars and eccentric artists to forgers and scammers, this book exposes a subculture far more provocative and corrupt than most realize.
Art Can Kill also reveals the dangers of art handling and how carelessness-from a need to rush, to be right at all costs, to save a buck-is the most common killer of art, sometimes even threatening the art movers themselves.
Reader beware: you will never see a Dali, watch a Disney animation, or view certain renowned gallery owners, artists, and celebrities the same way again.