Art Expert, The Key Witness
Italian art dealer, Gabriele Seno, is appealing a suspended sentence of one year and eight months plus $4,800 in fines after being found guilty of attempting to peddle a forged work by Josef Albers for $387,000. The painting, Study for … More…
The Booming Card Market
I was hoping to find something different to write about, but I could not resist covering the two Michael Jordan 1986 Fleer Rookie Cards that just sold; both had a PSA grading of Mint Gem 10. Jordan’s 1986 Fleer Rookie … More…
Sotheby’s Master Paintings & Sculpture Just Misses
On January 28, Sotheby’s offered a small selection of paintings in their Mater Paintings & Sculpture sale. I always wonder why they have a sale of Old Master works and then throw in a few 19th-century paintings. My personal feeling … More…
Angela Is Now Awaiting Trial
Back in 2017, Angela Gulbenkian’s criminal activities in the art world surfaced … basically selling works (a Warhol and Kusama) that she did not have the authority to sell. In June of 2019, a UK court issued a warrant for … More…
Art Dealer Pardoned
We all heard that during his final days in office, Trump handed out a large number of pardons. Among the ‘lucky’ people, New York art dealer Hillel “Helly” Nahmad. You might remember that in 2013, Mr. Nahmad pled guilty to … More…
Tintin And The Auction Adventure
Georges Remi (known by the pen name Hergé) (1907-1983) was a Belgian cartoonist best known for creating the Adventures of Tintin, a comic series about a young Belgian reporter whose adventures took him all around the world. The series, which … More…
The 14th Artwork From Notorious Nazi Collection Returned
While the provenance of a vast majority of works from the Hildebrand Gurlitt collection remains unknown, the German Lost Art Foundation determined that at least 14 works had definite ties to the Nazis. The book is still open on the … More…
300 Year Old Vase = Big Payday
I have written about the surprising auction results of Chinese art objects many times, but I am still amazed at how auctioneers consistently seem to have a hard time with their valuations. A recent sale in Ireland, once again, demonstrates … More…
Wildenstein Saga Continues
In 2016, members of the Wildenstein family were accused of tax fraud – Guy Wildenstein faces charges that he hid his fortune in offshore tax havens and a demand for £475m in back taxes By early 2017, Guy Wildenstein and … More…