Gallery settles $1.45M suit with artist Derek Fordjour

A gallery has settled its $1.45 million lawsuit against hot artist Derek Fordjour, whose works have been collected by Drake, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, new court papers show.

The Robert Blumenthal Gallery claimed in its 2020 suit that Fordjour didn’t deliver on seven of 20 artworks that it commissioned in 2014 and for which it pre-paid the then-struggling Hunter College MFA student $20,000.

Last week, the parties filed papers in the Manhattan Supreme Court case notifying a judge that they settled the suit. The terms of the settlement were not made public.

Blumenthal claimed in the suit that he recognized Fordjour’s talent and decided to give him gallery representation and financial support. But despite this and Fordjour’s growing success, the artist allegedly refused to deliver on the remaining works.

Fordjour called the suit frivolous when he asked a judge to toss it in March 2020. He also said he wanted the pieces returned and their proceeds paid out to him.

Fordjour is repped by three galleries, including Manhattan’s Petzel Gallery. He also has an outdoor mural displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art. His paintings have sold for as much as $250,000.

Lawyers for both sides did not immediately return requests for comment.