DOING SWIMMINGLY IN THE CANYON
Actually, we don't have enough water in our canyon to actually swim--except when a flash flood comes roaring down the Rio Galisteo at the bottom of our property. Then for anywhere from a few hours to a few days we can hear the water from our house.
So what do I mean by the headline? I mean to indicate that since Suzanne and I moved the offices of Bernard Ewell Art Appraisals, LLC to my home in Apache Canyon from our historic compound on Old Santa Fe Trail in Santa Fe, business has grown steadily. What's the explanation? Who knows?
Our new business model is working very well and we are just about to put up a new and better website. You will still get there through http://www.bernardewell.com/. In just a couple of weeks you should be able to check it out and if you don't find it contains answers to all of your questions or you don't find it easy to navigate, let me know, Please.
I'm just back from the Southwest Art History Conference in Taos, New Mexico so I won't post much this time. I was one of the originators of the conference twenty-three years ago. Curator David Witt was the idea guy and I supported him. It has grown into a very strong annual event and we had speakers from all over the country.
As you can guess from the title, there was no Salvador Dali content other than some discussions with art professionals who need my Dali expertise and some stories I told at meals. There is no shortage of good Dali market stories with better characters than I could make up for a novel.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
WHERE ARE WE?
WHERE ARE WE?
A conversation with Dali dealer Joe Nuzzolo today made me ask myself (as he had) where are we in the ongoing Dali Wars?
Lawsuits: The lawsuits filed by Park West Gallery against Fine Art Registry and the lawsuits filed against Park West by Theresa Franks, Fine Art Registry and various former clients are pretty much in an advanced state of rigormortis. Some claims against Park West have been dismissed (such as Sharon Day's) and papers have been filed seeking to dismiss the others. The class action suits against Park West have pretty much evaporated like a late morning coastal fog.
I currently have no involvement in any of the legal proceedings and have no relationship with Park West Gallery. As you know, at one time I examined and gave opinions about the authenticity of Dali prints that Park West bought, but never did an appraisal for them. I have, through all of the online attacks by Fine Art Registry, depositions and court testimony, had no reason to change any of the opinions that I developed. They were developed through examining prints, doing research and, especially, through being the only Dali expert to do due diligence by traveling to Italy and Spain and confirming all information at the source. Of course, in the court cases, I have been the only truly experienced and independent expert.
Dali dealers continue to sell good and bad Dali prints and original works. Almost none do due diligence by having me check out what they sell. Their clientele are no better protected than they were in the worst days of the Dali market. If the dealers use one of the "catalogs" to "authenticate" a print, they are on very shaky ground. If they use one of the self-styled "experts" to "authenticate" a print, they are on very shaky ground. Both Sotheby's and Christie's continue to follow very compromised and dangerous paths to Dali "authentications" and I am anxious for one of them to be named a defendant in a lawsuit as a result. Because of the disservice and personal vendettas of their bogus Dali "expert" they have turned away some pretty fine original Dali artworks and thus tainted the pieces and greatly hurt the sellers. I just don't understand why they won't listed to reason and change their policy to better and more honestly serve their clientele.
Artful Dodgers: Fraud and Foolishness in the Art Market is through editing and hopefully will be available to readers soon. My second book, Persistence of Enigma: The Salvador Dali Market is moving forward slowly because of the crush of business and life.
Theresa Franks and Fine Art Registry have backed off on their lies and attacks. As I was quoted as saying in the Fine Art Investigations article (last blog), living in rattlesnake country, I know better than to stir up a viper. If you are reading this, I assume you read that article which is linked to my last posting. It has been picked up and disseminated through other blogs, newsletters and news services but will not do nearly enough to counter the damage done by Franks and FAR.
Online, especially on Facebook, a lot of interesting photographs of Dali have been posted by Enrique Zepeda, Joe Nuzzolo and others. Paul Chimera continues to post some good blogs and the lines between the good guys and the bad continue to be pretty much unchanged.
Here in the canyon we are having a gorgeous Fall. The aspens are pretty much past their prime, but the cottonwoods and willows are gloriously golden. We have a nightly visit from a bear who is trying to bulk up for winter and the coyotes go about their usual business. We had a visit from a roadrunner a couple of days ago. They are always so entertaining. I have finger surgery today and we are hosting a wedding at our house on Saturday. Same old same old........
A conversation with Dali dealer Joe Nuzzolo today made me ask myself (as he had) where are we in the ongoing Dali Wars?
Lawsuits: The lawsuits filed by Park West Gallery against Fine Art Registry and the lawsuits filed against Park West by Theresa Franks, Fine Art Registry and various former clients are pretty much in an advanced state of rigormortis. Some claims against Park West have been dismissed (such as Sharon Day's) and papers have been filed seeking to dismiss the others. The class action suits against Park West have pretty much evaporated like a late morning coastal fog.
I currently have no involvement in any of the legal proceedings and have no relationship with Park West Gallery. As you know, at one time I examined and gave opinions about the authenticity of Dali prints that Park West bought, but never did an appraisal for them. I have, through all of the online attacks by Fine Art Registry, depositions and court testimony, had no reason to change any of the opinions that I developed. They were developed through examining prints, doing research and, especially, through being the only Dali expert to do due diligence by traveling to Italy and Spain and confirming all information at the source. Of course, in the court cases, I have been the only truly experienced and independent expert.
Dali dealers continue to sell good and bad Dali prints and original works. Almost none do due diligence by having me check out what they sell. Their clientele are no better protected than they were in the worst days of the Dali market. If the dealers use one of the "catalogs" to "authenticate" a print, they are on very shaky ground. If they use one of the self-styled "experts" to "authenticate" a print, they are on very shaky ground. Both Sotheby's and Christie's continue to follow very compromised and dangerous paths to Dali "authentications" and I am anxious for one of them to be named a defendant in a lawsuit as a result. Because of the disservice and personal vendettas of their bogus Dali "expert" they have turned away some pretty fine original Dali artworks and thus tainted the pieces and greatly hurt the sellers. I just don't understand why they won't listed to reason and change their policy to better and more honestly serve their clientele.
Artful Dodgers: Fraud and Foolishness in the Art Market is through editing and hopefully will be available to readers soon. My second book, Persistence of Enigma: The Salvador Dali Market is moving forward slowly because of the crush of business and life.
Theresa Franks and Fine Art Registry have backed off on their lies and attacks. As I was quoted as saying in the Fine Art Investigations article (last blog), living in rattlesnake country, I know better than to stir up a viper. If you are reading this, I assume you read that article which is linked to my last posting. It has been picked up and disseminated through other blogs, newsletters and news services but will not do nearly enough to counter the damage done by Franks and FAR.
Online, especially on Facebook, a lot of interesting photographs of Dali have been posted by Enrique Zepeda, Joe Nuzzolo and others. Paul Chimera continues to post some good blogs and the lines between the good guys and the bad continue to be pretty much unchanged.
Here in the canyon we are having a gorgeous Fall. The aspens are pretty much past their prime, but the cottonwoods and willows are gloriously golden. We have a nightly visit from a bear who is trying to bulk up for winter and the coyotes go about their usual business. We had a visit from a roadrunner a couple of days ago. They are always so entertaining. I have finger surgery today and we are hosting a wedding at our house on Saturday. Same old same old........
Monday, October 3, 2011
A MUST READ !!!
A MUST READ REPORT ON THERESA FRANKS AND FINE ART REGISTRY
Much has been said on this blog about Theresa Franks, her bogus "art marking system" and her attacks on me because I am the expert witness who testifies against her. Now a totally independent and disinterested writer, Michael Wilson, has posted the results of an invesitigation he conducted into Theresa Franks and her Fine Art Registry sites.
I believe it is a very fine article as Wilson had to work his way through all of the interlocking chambers of horror that Franks has constructed to defame her targets, stir up ignorant folks with the beiief that they've been screwed, and spread lies about topics on which this self-styled "art expert" (without credentials) believes she has something to say.
Read the full article at http://www.fineartinvestigations.blogspot.com/.http://www.fineartinvestigations.blogspot.com/
Much has been said on this blog about Theresa Franks, her bogus "art marking system" and her attacks on me because I am the expert witness who testifies against her. Now a totally independent and disinterested writer, Michael Wilson, has posted the results of an invesitigation he conducted into Theresa Franks and her Fine Art Registry sites.
I believe it is a very fine article as Wilson had to work his way through all of the interlocking chambers of horror that Franks has constructed to defame her targets, stir up ignorant folks with the beiief that they've been screwed, and spread lies about topics on which this self-styled "art expert" (without credentials) believes she has something to say.
Read the full article at http://www.fineartinvestigations.blogspot.com/.http://www.fineartinvestigations.blogspot.com/
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