The Orlando Museum of Art and the family of late former director Aaron De Groft have dropped lawsuits against each other after a years-long legal battle, an FBI seizure of forged artwork and De Groft’s death last month.
The museum said its dismissal ends all litigation between the museum and De Groft, who died Jan. 18.
“The parties did not think it prudent or cost effective to continue with this litigation,” the statement reads. “It is OMA’s sincere hope that this step will allow OMA to continue forward with its mission in partnership with its valued constituencies.”
The lawsuit closure punctuates a legal fight stemming from De Groft’s time as Orlando Museum of Art’s director and his introduction of a major exhibit he claimed consisted of lost paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat.
De Groft was hired as director of the Orlando Museum of Art in 2021. The following year, he brought in the exhibit Heroes & Monsters: Jean-Michel Basquiat, The Thaddeus Mumford Jr. Venice Collection.
It opened to a positive reception in February 2022, but almost immediately became the subject of global scorn when the New York Times ran an article calling into doubt the provenance of the works in the exhibit, and revealed to the wider world a federal investigation into the works and their owners. De Groft insisted that the works were legitimate.
The FBI conducted a raid on the museum in June 2022 and confiscated the majority of the exhibition. Days later, De Groft was ousted from his role. The museum was also placed on probation by the American Alliance of Museums. Throughout, De Groft remained defiantly adamant that the works were not fakes.
In 2023, the museum sued the former director for alleged fraud in authenticity and origin of the pieces, claiming De Groft aimed to profit off the fake exhibit.
It also said De Groft claimed the owners of the paintings promised him a cut of the proceeds ahead of what they anticipated to be a multimillion-dollar sale of the artworks.
The former director countersued the museum, claiming OMA’s chairperson and lawyers retained by the museum signed off on the exhibit of 25 “unseen” Basquiat paintings even after the FBI subpoenaed records relating to the exhibit in 2021. De Groft’s suit claimed wrongful termination on defamation on the part of OMA.
De Groft was still named in three lawsuits stemming from the saga at his time of death.
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This article appears in Feb 26 – Mar 4, 2025.
