The Isolation Artist: Scandal, Deception, and the Last Days of Robert Indiana

Journalist Keyes debuts with an engrossing look at the final years of Robert Indiana (1928–2018), the reclusive millionaire pop artist best known for the sculpture LOVE, which has been reproduced on everything from prints to postage stamps. The abrasive, egotistical artist, “who avoided conflict, yet constantly created it by making things difficult,” lived alone in an old house on Maine’s Vinalhaven island, where in 2016 he signed a will that granted a few associates extensive control over his estate. One took advantage by posing as the artist and selling artwork signed by Indiana that he may never have even seen. The complicated conflicts among Indiana’s dealer, publicist, and other employees led to long and expensive lawsuits after his death. As part of an investigation into forged artwork that never went anywhere, the FBI stepped in within days of his death and demanded an autopsy, which revealed his body was filled with palliative care drugs, though he was a Christian Scientist; the cause of death was undetermined. To this day no one knows where his cremated ashes are. Keyes, who knew Indiana personally, does a fine job drawing on interviews, court documents, medical reports, and other sources to sort out the murky events surrounding the artist’s death and what followed. This hard-hitting exposé of the contemporary art world and one of its controversial figures deserves a wide audience. [em](Sept.) [/em]