Metro

Ford fashion firm chairman files $25M suit over art ‘scam’

The chairman of Tom Ford’s fashion firm filed a $25 million suit today over claims that he and his wife were duped into buying a counterfeit painting from a prestigious Upper East Side gallery.

Domenico De Sole alleges that Ann Freedman, then-president of the Knoedler Gallery, “induced” him and his wife, Eleanore, into forking over $8.3 million for a purported Mark Rothko canvas in 2004.

Freedman allegedly claimed the untitled work came from a Swiss collector who bought it directly from the famed abstract expressionist, and that it had been authenticated by a Rothko scholar and the late artist’s son.

“This sales pitch, while compelling, was a scam,” the Manhattan federal court suit says.

The De Soles say “expert testing” has since shown that the purported 1956 work is a fake “that is unsalable and worthless.”

Their suit also notes that the Knoedler Gallery shut down last year “immediately after allegations were made that another painting (it) had sold…was counterfeit.”

Freedman’s lawyer, Nicholas Gravante Jr., said she would fight case and vowed: “We’re going to demonstrate beyond any doubt that this work is authentic.”

Knoedler lawyer Charles Schmerler said: “This lawsuit is completely lacking in merit, and Knoedler looks forward to vigorously defending itself against these outrageous claims in court and moving quickly to have this patently baseless lawsuit dismissed.”