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Top Heavy Brancusi

August 24, 2019

According to a recent report, French art collector Marc Baradel is suing Asher Edelman (Artemus), and two insurances companies (HUB and Lloyd’s of London), over damages sustained to Constantin Brancusi‘s sculpture Le Poisson that fell off a pedestal in Edelman’s office and broke in half.

According to the complaint, Baradel claims that Artemus “breached the consignment agreement by not protecting the Art from damage during their stewardship.” Now, here is the most interesting part, Edelman claims that Baradel was the one who mounted the sculpture on the pedestal moments before it fell.

Appraisals presented in court state that before the damage, the work was valued at $22.5M, now it has a value of $16.9M.  Also, according to the consignment agreement, the work was insured for up to $5 million through the two insurance agencies who allegedly have not honored the agreement since the incident. Baradel is seeking $22M from Edelman, and an additional $5 million from the insurance companies.

We will see how this plays out in court and will post an update.

Source: Rare Brancusi Sculpture Destroyed, Owner Sues Dealer for $22 Million USD

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