Ann Freedman, the art dealer who helmed the now-defunct Knoedler & Co. gallery in New York, filed a defamation suit in New York Supreme Court on Sept. 11. She led the 165-year-old gallery until its sudden closure in 2011 amidst claims of sour sales.

The venerable institution, a mainstay in the American art market, became tied to a $80 million scam. Multimillion-dollar paintings said to be by Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock and other modern masters turned out to be fakes.

In a recent article for New York magazine, Freedman says she did due diligence in authenticating the artwork, citing the support of multiple museum curators who knew of their "rediscovered" status.

Freedman's suit takes issue with a comment in the article from Manhattan art dealer Marco Grassi. He is quoted as saying, "A gallery person has an absolute responsibility to do due diligence, and I don't think she did it. The story of the paintings is totally kooky. I mean, really. It was a great story and she just said 'this is great'."

The 60 artworks at the center of the controversy came to Knoedler through Long Island-based art dealer Glafira Rosales who said she got them from a collector who wished to remain anonymous. She allegedly sourced the fake paintings from a Chinese artist based in Queens.