Fame, fortune and fraud: The rise and fall of ‘the biggest art scammer in history’ Inigo Philbrick

For a while, the name Inigo Philbrick was as good an investment as any in the gilded world of high-end art sales.

The London-born collector’s meteoric rise and perilous fall remains one of the industry’s most sensational tales. A Gatsby-like figure whose fluency in the language of art matched his gift for the art of the deal.

But as the lies piled up and the cash ran dry, the picture Philbrick had painted was exposed and the “biggest art scammer in history” finally crashed back down to earth.

Philbrick’s crimes included selling paintings without their owner’s consent and creating paper trails to drive up their value before flipping them all over again. He charmed and tricked. For years he lived lavishly while talking friends out of fortunes.

According to those in the art world, he was a constant presence at the most sought-after auctions, bidding and buying until all that was left was £69m