Anna Delvey sold $340K of her artwork that’s mostly of herself
She went from con artist to just the latter.
Still wearing an ankle monitoring bracelet after her conviction for larceny and theft, fake German heiress Anna Sorokin, aka Anna Delvey, is making a living selling her paintings and drawings — raking in $340,000.
Delvey sells originals for $25,000 and prints for $250 a pop, which have been snapped up by a global consortium of fans, including “Saturday Night Live” star Chloe Fineman, sources said.
“It’s pretty crazy,” said art dealer Chris Martine of the interest in Delvey’s artwork since she launched her career in May. “We’ve sold prints to 40 or 50 countries . . . It’s pretty amazing how her audience responds to anything she does.”
Her paintings and illustrations, created using prison pens and pencils, mostly reference Delvey herself, slinking around in designer fashions like Chanel and Prada while attracting notoriety. One work spoofs a New York Times front page, changing the paper’s Gothic masthead to “The Delvey Crimes.”
Martine, cofounder of the New York-based Founders Arts Club, said Fineman, who once spoofed Delvey on “SNL”, bought a $250 limited edition print of “Run It Again” — an autographed, 10-by-13-inch work that shows the blond fraudster wearing sunglasses and a face mask, imploring a figure behind a counter to run her credit card again after multiple failed attempts.
Fineman, who declined to comment when reached by The Post, was also “gifted” another copy of the print, Martine said. The unframed piece has a 280% expected increase in value, according to the Founders Art Club.
Martine estimated Sorokin, 31, who remains on house arrest in Manhattan since being released in October, has personally earned in the “six-figure range” via their partnership since she appeared virtually at a one-night art exhibit at Nolita’s Public Hotel in May.
“It’s no joke,” Martine said of any artist selling in excess of $250,000 in prints alone, particularly during a sagging economy. “She has a very clear talent, she’s a captivating individual and people resonate with her concepts.”
Casey Grooms, a San Francisco-based tech entrepreneur, paid $15,000 for Sorokin’s “Prowling in Prada,” a 20-by-16-inch acrylic on canvas original he sees as a perfect way to kickstart his art collection.
“It’s the idea, specifically, of buying into the idea of Anna and her life story,” Grooms told The Post of what attracted him to her work. “It was kind of like a ticket to advance myself a lot quicker in this space.”
In late November, Sorokin teamed up with The Locker Room, a gallery in Brooklyn, to release “The House (Arrest) Collection,” a set of four originals — including Groom’s purchase — and four first-edition prints.
Grooms insists his investment will pay off, especially after Netflix’s “Inventing Anna,” starring Julia Garner as Sorokin, immortalized the fraudster’s years-long scamming spree.
“She has a huge following, a very strong fan base,” Grooms told The Post. “So there’s a lot of potential there. For me, as a purchaser, you often have to wait a while for an artist to rise up. But that was kind of already baked into Anna’s name.”
Sorokin’s art career partly pays for her rent at her $4,250-per-month East Village walkup. She also hawks herself on Passes, an online startup where users pay for glimpses into the lives of influencers.
“I finally got my hair done by a proper hair stylist,” Anna’s latest post reads. “Do you think its [sic] been easy maintaining that? It has not. I entitle this artwork, ‘Anna Delvey gets her hair done.’”
For $5, fans can “unlock” the photo.
The Passes platform offers varying tiers of content, including a $549 package called the “Delvey Danger Zone” that offers a 15-minute call with Anna herself. There’s also the “Delvey Download” for $259, complete with a 1-minute “personalized” video, while those wishing to subscribe can purchase her “Good Behavior” package for $29.99 per month.
Sorokin, who was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison for conning rich associates and hotels into thinking she was a German heiress, was sprung in October after serving four years. As part of her release, an immigration judge barred her from accessing all social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. Though she has not posted on Instagram since Oct. 1, she still maintains a profile, which boasts 1.1 million followers and advertises a link to her artwork in her bio.
Sorokin’s attorney, Duncan Levin, told The Post that Passes does not qualify as social media. “It’s is a paywall-protected platform for content creators,” Levin said. “It isn’t any violation of any court order, and she is earning a legitimate living.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment on the matter Wednesday, citing “law enforcement sensitivities” when reached by The Post.
Meanwhile, Samara Bliss, founder of The Locker Room, said she expects Sorokin to continue to rake in profits from her art.
“We’re really excited to be working with her, and not because she is this character and has a public persona,” Bliss said Wednesday. “She really does have a history of art practice; she went to school for art. We believe in her career as a fine artist.”
Sorokin — who briefly studied at Central Saint Martins, an arts and design college in London — did not immediately respond Wednesday to requests for comment through her attorney.
“We’ve had a bunch of interest, including some people who are really dedicated to her story and being a part of her future career,” Bliss said.
“They’re household names,” she added. “But I couldn’t tell you who they are.”
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