A renowned British artist has come forward to address an online scam where someone is impersonating her, and she is demanding that Google reveal the identity of this fraudster.
Cecily Brown, a prominent figure in contemporary art, is seeking legal action against the person behind a counterfeit Gmail account that has been pretending to be her and offering fake business proposals to unsuspecting individuals in the art community.
On September 9, Brown filed a petition in Manhattan Supreme Court to compel Google to disclose information that would help identify the individual behind the scam. She intends to pursue legal action against them, but needs their identity first.
The scammer reportedly used the email address “[email protected],” drawing from the title of one of Brown’s famous artworks, “Aujourd’hui Rose,” which is part of the collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Notably, her Instagram handle is also “aujourdhuirose.”
Brown discovered the existence of the scam in July when another artist forwarded her an email sent from this dubious address.
In the communicated message, the sender purportedly expressed gratitude for the support from fellow artists, stating: “Your engagement, likes, and comments on my Instagram pages truly mean the world to me; your energy fuels my passion and keeps me inspired every day.” The email then invited the recipient to partake in “an exciting professional opportunity.”
After receiving the suspicious email, Brown issued a cease and desist letter to the email address, but there was no reply.
On July 28, she took to Instagram to alert her approximately 28,000 followers, sharing that someone had been sending emails “pretending to be me.”
Over a career spanning two decades, Brown has produced hundreds of artworks. Her piece titled “High Society” fetched an astonishing $9.81 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 2025.
In her message, she clarified, “I’m not inviting you to be in a group show and I’m really sorry if you’ve had an email from a scammer.”
As of now, neither Brown’s legal representatives nor Google have responded to requests for comments.
