Artist Mickalene Thomas sued over ‘abusive work environment’

Racquel Chevremont, the collector and curator who also starred in Real Housewives of New York, has filed a lawsuit against her ex-fiancée, Mickalene Thomas, alleging that the artist exploited her and fostered an “abusive work environment” while helping build her career.

The 31-page complaint, obtained by Urgent Matter, was filed Monday in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan and provides expanded details into Chevremont’s allegations of harassment against Thomas, which were revealed in court documents earlier this year.

“This case is about exploitation and betrayal,” lawyers for Chevremont wrote in the opening lines of the court document. “Ms. Thomas subjected Ms. Chevremont to years of emotional abuse and financial exploitation.”

Chevremont and Thomas were an “art world power couple,” as described in court documents, who met in 2002 when Thomas was an emerging painter fresh out of art school at Yale University and serving as artist-in-residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem.

The pair started dating in 2011 and began working together professionally in 2012, when Thomas appeared in her celebrated first solo museum exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, which Chevremont allegedly helped publicize.

Chevremont, a former model, allegedly guided Thomas in breaking into editorial photography for fashion magazines to help boost her reputation. The lawsuit said the pair worked on numerous shoots together, mostly featuring Chevremont as the model.

Those photoshoots included an advertisement for Absolut Vodka that reimagined Édouard Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe, and another for L’Officiel Paris. The lawsuit touted Chevremont as the chief negotiator for such shoots, particularly convincing Absolut to triple its initial offer to Thomas.

Chevremont and Thomas realized in 2015 that they would need to formalize their business arrangements with the artist’s growing profile. At the time, Jean-Pierre Lehmann requested to commission a painting by Thomas with Chevremont as the subject based on a prior photograph of her.

Thomas allegedly presented Chevremont with a model release that proposed giving the artist all rights to her image indefinitely without compensation or protection. Chevremont found the document to be unacceptable, and the pair hired a lawyer who suggested they become equal co-owners in a company that would hold the rights to their collaborations.

The lawsuit includes allegations of physical abuse, notably an alleged domestic violence incident when Chevremont broke up with Thomas in October 2020, as well as documentation of other threats of violence and harassment after the pair split.

But the bulk of the case serves as an interesting study in the business challenges artists can face when blending their personal and business lives. It centers on allegations regarding their work together at MT Special Projects, the company, which is also known as Deux Femmes Noires.

Soon after forming Deux Femmes Noires, Thomas completed Racquel Reclined Wearing Purple Jumpsuit for Lehmann and went on to make at least seven more major paintings and photo collages of Chevremont based on their photoshoots together.

But Thomas allegedly insisted that she sell those paintings and collages through the limited-liability company established for her studio, which would charge 25%-35% premiums for those works to compensate Chevremont. But Thomas allegedly never paid Chevremont because she purportedly needed the money to keep her studio afloat.

Still, Chevremont’s contributions became “a key driver of growth” for Thomas’ studio and she took on increased responsibilities including negotiations with galleries, museums and collectors. Thomas even allegedly touted Chevremont as her business partner for her studio, though she was not, in emails to gallery Lehmann Maupin in 2017.

Meanwhile, the working conditions were “extremely difficult,” the lawsuit alleges.

“Thomas was unstable and emotionally abusive—requiring Ms. Chevremont to respond to her ever-changing demands at all hours of the day and night,” her lawyers wrote.

Chevremont allegedly continued to take on more responsibilities at the studio through the next several years. But Thomas failed to properly compensate her, allegedly continuing to tell her girlfriend that the studio needed the money.

“But this was all a ruse by Ms. Thomas. For years, Ms. Thomas paid herself significant sums while denying Ms. Chevremont her promised compensation,” the lawsuit reads. “By 2020, Ms. Chevremont began to uncover Ms. Thomas’ lies and exploitation of her.”

Chevremont alleged in the lawsuit that she discovered revenues from the sales of photographs depicting her were being routed through the studio’s LLC and not Deux Femmes Noires.

The complaint adds that, in 2021, Chevremont renegotiated a multimillion-dollar art transaction between Thomas and collector José Mugrabi, increasing the deal by $2 million while reducing the number of paintings from 40 to 26—allowing Thomas to resell 14 works at market value. Thomas allegedly promised Chevremont a $2 million bonus or two paintings for the negotiation but never paid.

Thomas allegedly fired Chevremont from her studio in May 2022 and allegedly told her to “go back to modeling" because no artist would ever work with her again, according to the complaint.

It further claims Thomas launched a retaliatory campaign to blackball Chevremont in the art world, including cancelling a $4 million print series with Brand X and attempting to derail a swimwear collaboration with Vilebrequin.

The lawsuit lists 13 causes of action—including breach of contract, sexual harassment and retaliation—and seeks more than $10 million in damages. Chevremont is represented by Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz P.C., a firm well known for entertainment and art-law cases.

The case is likely to be closely watched by major studio artists, collectors and art-law firms that navigate similar collaborations between partners and employees. It highlights the fragile boundary between personal relationships and professional labor in artist-run studios as the industry faces calls for greater accountability.

Urgent Matter has reached out to Chevremont and Thomas for more information and additional comment.

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