When reclusive, millionaire artist Robert Indiana died in 2018, he left behind dark rumors and scandal, as well as an estate embroiled in lawsuits and facing accusations of fraud. Here is the true story of the artist's final days, the aftermath, the deceptive world that surrounded him, and the inner workings of art as very big business.
"I'm an artist, not a business man," Robert Indiana said, refusing to copyright his iconic LOVE sculpture in 1965. An odd and tortured soul, an artist who wanted both fame and solitude, Indiana surrounded himself with people to manage his life and work. Yet, he frequently changed his mind and often fired or belittled those who worked with him. By 2008, when Indiana created the sculpture HOPE--or did he?--the artist had signed away his work for others to exploit, creating doubt about whether he had even seen artwork sold for very high prices under his name.
At the time of his death, Indiana left an estate worth millions--and unsettling suspicions. There were allegations of fraudulent artwork, of elder abuse, of caregivers who subjected him to horrendous living conditions. There were questions about the inconclusive autopsy and rumors that his final will had been signed under coercion. There were strong suspicions about the freeloaders who'd attached themselves to the famous artist. "In the final hours of his life," the author writes, "Robert Indiana was without the grace of a better angel, as the people closest to him covered their tracks and plotted their defenses."
With unparalleled access to the key players in Indiana's life, author Bob Keyes tells a fast-paced and riveting story that provides a rare inside look into the life of an artist as well as the often unscrupulous world of high-end art. The listener is taken inside the world of art dealers, law firms, and an array of local characters in Maine whose lives intersected with the internationally revered artist living in an old Odd Fellows Hall on Vinalhaven Island.
The Isolation Artist is for anyone interested in contemporary art, business, and the perilous intersection between them. It an extraordinary window into the life and death of a singular and contradictory American artist--one whose work touched countless millions through everything from postage stamps to political campaigns to museums--even as he lived and died in isolation, with a lack of love, the loss of hope, and lots and lots of money.
About the Author :
Bob Keyes has worked as a journalist for four decades. He is a nationally recognized arts writer and storyteller with specialties in American visual arts and the contemporary culture of New England. Keyes has worked for the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram since 2002. He has received numerous awards for his writing, including the Rabkin Prize for Visual Arts Journalism in recognition of his contributions to the national arts dialogue. Keyes lives with his family in Maine.
Traber Burns worked for thirty-five years in regional theater, including the New York, Oregon, and Alabama Shakespeare festivals. He also spent five years in Los Angeles appearing in many television productions and commercials, including Lost, Close to Home, Without a Trace, Boston Legal, Grey's Anatomy, Cold Case, Gilmore Girls, and others.
Review :
"A highly readable and thoroughly researched piece of investigative journalism. Bob Keyes tackles it squarely and with genuine compassion."
-- "Maine Sunday Telegram"
"A richly-reported tale of artistic genius undone by extravagance, greed, and age...cracking the hard exteriors of the New York City art world and a remote Maine island for the complicated truth within."
-- "Michael Paterniti, author of Love and Other Ways of Dying"
"A spellbinding cautionary tale about the tricky business of mixing art with commerce...with a scholar's attention to detail and a muckraker's doggedness."
-- "Shelf Awareness"
"Keyes teases out the competing motivations and frequent skullduggery of a jaw-dropping cast of opportunists, takers, frauds, and hangers-on. It reads like a spy novel; I was riveted."
-- "Monica Wood, author of The One-in-a-Million Boy"
"Reads like a mystery."
-- "PBS News Hour"
"This hard-hitting exposé of the contemporary art world and one of its controversial figures deserves a wide audience."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Traber Burns maintains a brisk pace that accentuates the intensity of this captivating but sad story about the final days of the artist Robert Indiana...Burns's news reporter approach keeps the story interesting, and he's especially adept at capturing the islanders' voices."
-- "AudioFile"
