Art sold as hand-signed November 11, 2009
Posted by cantueso in art, drawing, law, painting.trackback
In November 2008 googling for Chagall lithographs, produced 153,000 hits and dozens of of offers, all for more or less the same price. — Because of the crisis, this market has died down.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Next, a search for fraud Chagall lithograph produced 13,000 hits with dozens of people complaining that they had bought a lemon. The signature was a fake. The print was worthless. — But this business has died down. The same search got some 3000 hits in May 2009, but only 950 in November 2009.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The problem is that you need a microscope to tell an original lithograph from a computerized imitation, and so the difference between the real work and a fake has become purely conceptual, the same in painting as it has been for ages in sculpture* * *.
***In sculpture and also in architecture and dressmaking, the “original” often exists only on paper as a design or in clay as a model. What can be bought and sold is therefore mostly a “copy”.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
It is probably true that Dalí signed some twenty thousand sheets of white paper which he sold to his business friends to be printed and peddled later. If the signature is authentic, so is the work; or isn’t it?
.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Besides, what if it were “hand-signed”, not by the artist, but by the guy who runs the shop ?
“It’s a very new kind of case for us,” said Tina Shim, deputy city attorney in Los Angeles on efforts to prosecute misdemeanor art offenses. “The art market is relatively unregulated. A lot of low-level fraud goes on.”
In other words, it is very hard to do anything about it.
..The first thumbnail is of a Chagall’s “David escaping”; the second one is Dali’s “Woman at the window”; and the third one is Miró’s “Gold feathered lizard”.
.
.
I strongly recommend investing in signed original Chagall lithographs. They are beautiful and continue to appreciate. Dali is also a wonderful artist, but he is one of them most forged artists on the market today, so use caution.
My search for “chagall lithographs” on Google has landed me some really sweet deals. Don’t go through big retail galleries as there is always a heavy premium on the price tag.
I am curious to hear other people’s experiences with their Chagall purchases, especially online.
To Roger
I don’t know enough to make a case, but I don’t believe that Chagall made the lithographs that are being sold in his name. When he was young, he was unknown, and when he became famous, he would no longer have spent the time necessary to make copies of his own work.
If you are un-sure of your Dali work or have questions about legit Dali works, call me at 888-888-DALI Ext. 204 Ask for Dan
The idea of an artist of Dali’s stature signing blank sheets of paper is, pardon the grotesque pun, SURREAL! (?) An entirely different, and perhaps more pragmatic fascination arises if some 20,000 such signatures were made. How do we know if this is true?
I am not an artist, but my signature has appeared on all the checks I’ve written in my life. A considerable sum I would guess. Perhaps a hundred thousand dollars to date. Maybe more? And I calculate (roughly) that I have signed less than 10,000 checks in my 52 years of living.
This post simultaneously illuminates and darkens that shifting boundary between Art and Money. Creativity and Wealth? Beauty and Truth? I love these thoughtful posts of your cantueso!
I don’t think it is surreal, and it is certainly true. See for instance
“Excerpt from a Fine Art Registry interview of 6 March 08 with Kriminalhauptkomissar Ernst Schöller, of the Landeskriminalamt Baden-Wurtemburg, a Senior Law Police Officer Specializing in Art Fraud.
There is a gallery of suspect works at “http://www.salvadordalifakes.com/gallery/
Notice how dealers advertise their ware online: “AVOID FAKE! TRUST ME! “
It is absurd to believe that small places that need to advertise on the internet can afford to keep that kind of inventory.
Knowing nothing of the life of Dali I was trying to imagine the artist’s thought process and how such a famous man could find himself signing blank papers by the thousands. Someone must have paid him to do that no? To be sold as autographs? And the industry of making that many signatures is impressive to me. Imagine signing 55 sheets of paper every day for a whole year.
I find that a lot more amusing than the buffoons who scream “AVOID FAKE! TRUST ME!” and the fools who go trust them. That is just sad stupidity. Apparently we’re entertained by different things.
Where did I get that he signed 20 000 ? Can’t remember. I find it believable, not because of Dali’s character, but because of the nature of the market.
Spain’s greatest writer, Cela, produced only second-rate once he had become famous and the literary establishment continued applauding, though not reading him. So for 40 years he served them what they deserved and they continued applauding.
.
Your post said “It is probably true that Dalí signed some twenty thousand sheets of white paper”. Did I misunderstand? That would be the first time. Ha.
It’s certainly a crazy market, where the wealthy get to compete. They probably drink and do lots of drugs as well. If I wear a fake Rolex, maybe someone will lick MY ass?
No, you are right.
It is like this: that he signed empty papers not to be sold as autographs, but to be printed later is a fact. That he signed those in large amounts is another fact. How many he signed : I do not remember where I got that number of 20 000 from.
The police can’t do a thing about it. I can no longer find the place where the Los Angeles police said the whole thing was NEW to them and they were trying to do their best. Here are the lawyers trying to get an injunction :
http://tinyurl.com/5ttooc
This market is NOT for the rich. The rich do NOT buy prints on the internet.
See http://www.dalifraud.com/
“………….. A contract dispute followed in which Dali agreed to sign 17,500 blank sheets of paper for the tarot prints that had yet to be produced. According to Stuart, owner today of Barricade Books, publisher of Catterall’s book, Dali actually lost count and signed an additional 3,000 sheets. Stuart said he sold those 3,000 to Leon Amiel, a New Jersey publisher of art books who later would be revealed as the world’s largest manufacturer of fake prints attributed to Dali, Chagall and Picasso.”
@ Jimmy and Canteuso,
You seem to think that a fraudulent artist and a fraudulent dealer are the same thing.