Tod Volpe’s mémoire “Framed” tells the story of a young man catapulted to the apex of the art world, chronicling Tod’s overwhelming rise to fame, the success that overcame him, and the resulting journey which concluded in his ultimate reinvention and redemption. As a master player in the art arena, Tod draws back the curtain on himself and also reveals how auction houses, dealers, collectors and museums maneuver art around the globe.

Brought up in a working-class family on the outskirts of New York City, Tod Volpe was a tailor’s son with an eye for the finer things in life, who rose from obscurity to become the preeminent tastemaker to the Hollywood glitterati. Dubbed “The Oracle” by the iconic Vogue Magazine, for two decades he created a global feeding frenzy in the art world. As the famous “art dealer to the stars” to celebrities such as Jack Nicholson, Barbara Streisand, Madonna, Bruce Willis, Andy Warhol and others, Tod eventually became caught up in a whirlwind of customary art world maneuvers that ultimately spiraled beyond his control.

Misunderstood and mischaracterized, Tod was strategically used by the FBI as a sounding alarm to the art world; they would be cracking down on the unregulated industry and Volpe was the perfect example: his connection to celebrity was bound to make international headlines. Tod was defended by leading attorneys Nathan and Allen Dershowitz (of Claus von Bulow trial fame) and his story did in fact make world news and threaten to blow the lid off of Hollywood and the secret world of art dealing in a star-studded trial. Choosing to protect his friends and colleagues and remain silent, he instead agreed to a negotiated plea bargain.

Tod, determined to tell the true story, courageously returned to the stage nearly two decades ago with a renewed enthusiasm, commitment, and sense of purpose that have since earned him newfound respect and great success in building a growing empire that encompasses art, media, entertainment and technology.

 

Framed is available in both European and American editions

Available for Purchase

Featured Reviews and Interviews :

The Sunday Telegraph

The Independent, by Robert Hanks

Art News

Boston Herald Sunday

The New York Post, by Beth Piskora

HQ, Tod Volpe and Peter Israel

The Observer (London, UK), Volpe and Israel, Going Going Gone“


Talk, Volpe and Israel

FHM, by Andy Darling

The Scotsman Magazine, by Beatrice Colin

Business AM, by Ginny Clark

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