[CPProt.net] Carrier's 'Swindler's List' draws attention

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

Carrier's 'Swindler's List' draws attention 
Article online since 16 novembre 2005
 
The alleged Rouault, declared a forgery after a thorough examination by
Isabelle Rouault, daughter of the artist and director of the Fondation
Rouault, Paris, France. 
By Marilynn Vanderstay 

The business of art is for the most part unregulated in North America,
making fraud and forgery an international billion-dollar industry.
Fortunately Westmount fine art consultant Marc Carrier has become one of the
definitive voices on forgeries, frauds and other flim flams. 

It all began in the late 1990s when Carrier's letter to an editor resulted
in a libel suite. "Defamation laws can become de facto 'gag orders,'" said
Carrier. "This has resulted in an atmosphere of 'libel chill' in the art
world, where no one dares speak." 
Except Carrier, that is. 
He had just taken an early retirement from his career in communications and
was so taken aback by the experience that he decided he should investigate
the whole issue of art fraud and how to recognize it. Fueled by a passion
for art, he took it upon himself to become an expert on the ins and outs,
including how to recognize a forgery, how to recognize a swindler, and most
recently, how to appraise real art. 
Today, in the presentations he gives to interested groups that have recently
included McGill University, the Rotary Club of Westmount and the Women's
University Club, he shares using humorous yet poignant anecdotes of art
fraud, combined with up-to- the-minute research. 
Art fraud comes in different forms, from so-called investments in alleged
Old Masters, to Internet sales of forgeries at too-good-to-be-true prices,
to selling forgeries of Salvador Dali works on paper, a fraud Carrier says
in itself is worth millions. Carrier has seen it all. And more. 
That experience has led Carrier to become a consultant for law enforcement,
lawyers and directly with victims. Presently he is consulting with a U.S.
art collector who appears to be the victim of a $1 million fraud. 
"I was recently called upon by an American collector to authenticate an
alleged Rouault he had purchased for $50,000 US. The work ended up in the
hands of a US appraiser who, fearing litigation, refused to release the
painting until I got the police involved. The painting didn't feel right. If
it was a fake, it was a good fake, but the palette felt wrong and the
composition was not right. So I did what had to be done, and I submitted an
excellent digital photo of the painting to the Fondation Rouault in Paris.
Headed by the artist's daughter, the foundation is the ultimate authority in
authenticating Rouaults. The answer came back pretty quickly: Fake. But it
was not only a forgery; the members of the foundation had seen it before at
least five times. They sent me a long pedigree of the work, explaining that
a succession of American collectors had submitted it for authentication over
the years. 
"Now, here's the big difference between France and North America: In France,
assuming the work was owned by a French national, the Fondation Rouault as
well as other authenticating individuals and committees with the droit moral
would undoubtedly get a court to order the destruction of the fake painting.
Here, the inviolability of ownership transcends the crime of forgery, and
the foundation can only issue a warning. I'm willing to bet they'll see this
particular forgery again and again." 
Carrier not only exposes art fraud. He also gives his audience the tools and
the caveats to protect themselves. "Certificates of authentication, the
painting's provenance or pedigree and appraisals must always be verified and
confirmed when negotiating an art purchase," he says. "But the best
protection is still the familiar maxim 'If it sounds too good to be true, it
probably is.'" 
Westmount art gallery owner Glenn Campbell, who owns A.H. Campbell Gallery
with his brother John, agrees. He remembers growing up in the gallery with
his father Ian and a couple of well-dressed business men coming into the
gallery with a pile of Dali prints they wanted to sell. "My father felt
there was something wrong so he didn't do business with them, but he was
sure they went to galleries right across Montreal. 
"When a client comes in with a painting they want to authenticate, the first
thing I do is turn it around and start checking the age of the piece
starting with the frame. It is all about educating the customer. There are
so many different kinds of prints, they need to know what to look for before
purchasing." Campbell recommends and uses the book 'How to Identify Prints'
by Bamber Gascoigne. 
To help educate the public, Carrier will be presenting 'The Swindler's Art'
tomorrow, Friday Nov. 17, at the Visual Arts Centre, 350 Victoria Avenue at
5 p.m.. Tickets are $5 at the door. You can also consult his website 
www.carrierartappraisals.com
 or call him at (514) 715-7136. 

http://www.westmountexaminer.com/