Socialite Art Collector Jailed in U.K. For Kusama Pumpkin Fraud

A German art collector was sentenced to three and a half years in prison less time she’d already served after admitting to an art fraud involving the fake sale of a $1.3 million yellow pumpkin sculpture by Yayoi Kusama.

Angela Gulbenkian pleaded guilty in London to allegations that she took the money from a Hong Kong-based art dealer but never delivered the famous polka-dotted artwork.

The socialite, who married into oil baron Calouste Gulbenkian’s family, enmeshed herself in Europe’s art world. One moment, Gulbenkian was posing for photos with the artist Ai Weiwei. The next she was brokering ...