There was a Dalí exhibit in Philadelphia in 2005 which my husband, daughter and I attended. It was wonderful and we loved it. We had liked Dali from afar for a while and after we went to the exhibit we thought this artist was really neat and we tried to find out more about him.

We've been on about a dozen cruises and I never go to the art auctions because usually we do shore excursions or we’re out by the pool, but in September 2006 we were on a Royal Caribbean cruise on Grandeur of the Seas along with my extended family and I thought, "You know what, let me just go to the art auctions and see if they have any Dalís."

I had been out by the pool and you do drink on cruises – I'll be honest about that – and then they give you a couple more glasses of champagne at the auction.

The Park West auctioneer Adam Davy said, "What are you looking for?" and I told him that we had been to the exhibit in Philadelphia and had really liked that and had started to look at maybe collecting some Dalí, and you could sort of see his antenna go up. He said, "I have just the thing for you," and talked about the Divine Comedy, and this set of three, Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise and told me this was really worth collecting and to have this set of three was something I would find nowhere else. (In my research since I have seen that these prints are everywhere.)

I told him my daughter liked Dali, and he said it was certainly something worth passing down to her as it will increase in value over the years. We wanted to spend our money on the right things that would have some investment value. He assured me that this was a good investment and a unique bargain.

There were some high rollers on this cruise as far as what they spent on DalÌ art. So then the Dali prints came up for auction and I could never get a real good feel about what they were asking. They kept saying what they were worth and whoever got these would have a really good buy, so I bid, and the auctioneer said, "Well, you come to us after dinner tonight and we’ll work out your price with you."

After dinner I went to the gallery and they had more champagne there.... I was very foolish. You don't drink alcohol and then go do something important like this.

I got there and they said, "This is all you owe us tonight," and it was the down payment of $1,375 or whatever it was. They said, "And you have a $20,000 credit limit on your Park West card." [see article on the current Park West card here]

I thought OK, and I signed. I put my papers away and got on with the cruise. I came home and started a new job that week, where we live in Northeastern North Carolina. A month later, in October 2006, I got my credit card statement from HSBC in Las Vegas, with the $20,000 charge to Park West on it.

I saw this $20,000 statement and thought, "Oh my god, what have I done?" I hadn’t realized how much I'd spent. Part of it had to do with the champagne. I went up to my suitcase, pulled out the purse I was using that night and there was my Park West at Sea invoice and sure enough, I had done this.

When I realized what I had spent I called Park West and said, I didn't realize what I was doing, I needed to send these back, and they said, "It's a final sale, read your document," and I did and it does say it's a final sale unless I can prove they weren't authentic.

So we figured, "Well, OK, so you did this but if they're worth it that's great, it's an investment."

If these prints that we have were really worth $20,000, we'd still be happy to have them.

We were getting ready to pay off the credit card and get these pieces insured and finalize all the pieces. Looking at similar pieces online we thought, "Oh my god, what's happened here? We could never get these insured for $20,000 or the $30,000 that they had told us."

So we started to do some research. I came home one day and my husband said to me, "Something is really wrong. I've gone online to a couple of what look to be reputable galleries and even onto eBay – and on eBay you really have to watch what you buy – and I can’t see anything priced at anywhere close to what we paid."

I said, "That can't be right," so we started to do more research. Then this panic level started building. And we figured we had gotten taken.

I had used some bad judgement, but I had also been taken advantage of.

I had the prints appraised by a reputable dealer in New York City and he said they were basically worthless and I should send them back to Park West and get a refund.

We did our research on the web and with some different galleries and then I called Park West this past Friday to explain all this again. I talked to a Ms. Willbanks, who basically started screaming at me. She told me I did not know what I was talking about. My three prints were of the value stated on my invoice. I couldn't even get a word in edgewise with this lady. I finally said to her, "Please let me speak. Look, my husband and I have done some research over the last couple of months. We've gone to websites, we've looked at galleries, I don't see anything like we have at the price we paid." I said I could not even sell these for pennies on the dollar. She told me I didn't know what I was talking about, but if I would email her all the websites and all the galleries' names, they would research it.

I said, "I'm sure you’ve heard of them and you know who I'm talking about and I don't need to do this." She said to email her. I said I would put it in writing to her. They had shown me something by Bernard Ewell. But I talked to someone in a gallery in New York who told me that at one point Bernard Ewell was the quintessential authority on Dali, but that was not the case any more. [see Hochman article]

I have letters that I've prepared: one to Mr. Scaglione at Park West, telling him that I was misled and duped and wanted my down payment returned and Park West credit card balance cancelled; and one to the credit card company, HSBC in Las Vegas, Nevada. We will not be paying the bill until this is sorted out and Park West does right by me. I am copying the BBBs of Michigan and Delaware along with Attorneys General for both states and North Carolina. I also am copying Royal Caribbean International cruise lines.

They left a bad taste in my mouth when here I was, just wanting to start collecting art. I had a little expendable cash to use to do that and I got really burned. We need to find some DalÌ prints that are authentic and properly priced and invest in those.

Albert Scaglione
President, Park West
Park West at Sea Corporate Offices
160 Greentree Drive, Suite 101
Dover, DE 19904

Dear Mr. Scaglione:

In late 2006 I took a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas from Baltimore to Bermuda. While on board I went to Park West's Art Auction. I enjoyed some champagne, and bid on a group of three Dali Divine Comedy woodblock prints. I wasn’t quite sure what my final bid was. After dinner that evening, I met the Park West representatives, and provided my Visa card for what I believed was full payment for the works, and then signed what I thought was an open line of credit to use for future purchases. I put the paperwork they gave me in my suitcase, and didn’t really look at it until I got my statement a month later.

When I received the Park West statement I realized that what I thought was a credit application was in fact a purchase for $20,000.00 from the Park West at Sea art auction on the cruise. I immediately called Park West corporate offices to return the works for credit. They refused stating that they were final sales. They also advised that the prints that I had purchased were worth at least $30,000.00.

I was dismayed and ashamed; however, I took some solace in the stated value of what I had bought. It seemed important that items so valuable should be insured. I began to research these works to determine how much they should be insured for. To my horror, I discovered that Park West had made claims that were excessive, disingenuous and even fraudulent. I was not just a victim of bad judgement (and perhaps plied with a little too much champagne), but of fraud! I was sold prints which Park West valued at $20,000 that I could find on-line and at reputable galleries for a fraction of what I paid. Additionally, according to sources at Fine Art Registry, Park West is unlikely to have paid more than $700 for each of the prints, including framing!! This means that I paid $20,000 retail for 3 prints purchased and framed by the seller for less than $2,000. I am formally requesting you to investigate this matter. I will not pay any balance on the Park West credit card until this matter is equitably resolved, and to my satisfaction.

Because of my discoveries, I must herewith advise you that I am contesting the assertions of Park West, and therefore will not make any additional payments. I will be returning the works to Park West within the next several days, and with a request that the payment made on my Visa account is refunded to me and the $20,000 balance on my Park West credit card cancelled.

Sincerely,
Mary E. Waudby

cc:
Delaware Better Business Bureau
Better Business Bureau of Eastern Michigan
AARP
Office of the Attorney General for the State of North Carolina
Michigan Office of the Attorney General
Delaware Department of Justice, Attorney General’s Office
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

HBSC Bank Nevada, N.A.
1111 Town Center Drive
Las Vegas, Nevada 89144

To whom it may concern:

In late 2006 I took a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas from Baltimore to Bermuda. While on board I went to Park West's Art Auction. I enjoyed some champagne, and bid on a group of three Dali Divine Comedy woodblock prints. I wasn’t quite sure what my final bid was. After dinner that evening, I met the Park West representatives, and provided my Visa card for what I believed was full payment for the works, and then signed what I thought was an open line of credit with to use for future purchases. I put the paperwork they gave me in my suitcase, and didn’t really look at it until I got my statement a month later.

When I received the Park West statement I realized that what I thought was a credit application was in fact a purchase for $20,000.00 from the Park West at Sea art auction on the cruise. I immediately called Park West to return the works for credit. They refused stating that they were final sales. They also advised that the prints that I had purchased were worth at least $30,000.00.

I was dismayed and ashamed; however, I took some solace in the stated value of what I had bought. It seemed important that items so valuable should be insured. I began to research the works to determine how much they should be insured for and to my horror discovered that Park West had made claims that were excessive, disingenuous and even fraudulent. I was not just a victim of bad judgement (and perhaps plied with a little too much champagne), but of fraud! I was sold prints which Park West valued at $20,000 that I could find on-line and at reputable galleries for a fraction of what I paid. Additionally, according to sources at Fine Art Registry, Park West is unlikely to have paid more than $700 each for each of these prints including framing!! This means that I paid $20,000 retail for 3 prints purchased and framed by the seller for less than $2,000. I am formally requesting you to investigate this matter. I will not pay any balance on this card until this matter is equitably resolved, and to my satisfaction.

Because of my discoveries, I must herewith advise you that I am contesting the assertions of Park West, and therefore will not make any additional payments. I will be returning the works to Park West within the next several days, and with a request that the payment made on my Visa account is refunded to me and the $20,000 balance on my Park West credit card cancelled.

Sincerely,
Mary E. Waudby
Park West Account # xxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx

cc:
Delaware Better Business Bureau
Better Business Bureau of Eastern Michigan
AARP
Office of the Attorney General for the State of North Carolina
Delaware Department of Justice, Attorney General’s Office
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
Michigan Attorney General
Nevada Office of the Attorney General

• FAR Investigates › Art Auctions at Sea