Art Can Kill

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.

Author Bryan Cooke has been in the art services business for more than 50 years and is an expert in the fields of art logistics, packing and sculpture rigging. He has moved the entire collections of many museums, including the JP Getty Museum and the Huntington Art Museum. He has packed and shipped paintings that set world record auction prices and handled many priceless masterpieces - ranging from Rembrandts to Gainsborough's Iconic Blue Boy. He served for 9 years on the International Convention of Fine Art Transporters Board. He also founded ARCS, the Association of Registrars & Collections Specialists and was a cofounder of PACCIN, the Packing and Collections Care Information Network. Bryan's book is a fascinating behind-the-scenes eye witness view of 50 years of art market growth - from quiet beginnings in the early 1970's to the present multi-billion-dollar explosion of Galleries, Museums, Art Fairs and Auction Houses. Above all, his book is an exploration of art ethics and a love of the creative spirit.