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A Salvador Dalí expert comments on the Park West at Sea Dalí prints

An interview with Bruce Hochman

by David Phillips, Fine Art Registry™

Bruce Hochman may be Salvador Dalí's greatest fan. Author of The Annual Print Price Guide to the Graphic Works of Salvador Dalí, Bruce is also the Gallery Director of the Salvador Dalí Gallery in San Juan Capistrano (www.Daligallery.com), the only gallery in the world devoted exclusively to the works of Salvador Dalí. He is a member of the International Fine Art Appraisers Association.

Bruce was interviewed recently by Fine Art Registry™ on the subject of Park West Gallery, Park West at Sea and the sale of real or fake Salvador Dalí prints.

FAR®: How is the Dalí climate these days, because there was a time in the 80s that fakes abounded, was there not?

BH: Here's what happened. Dalí was ill. In December 1979 his hand was starting to shake. He and his wife Gala were in New York, staying at the St. Regis – they always wintered in New York – and she was giving him wrong medication, thinking he had flu-like symptoms. He wasn't getting any better. He said, "I'm going back to Spain, I want to be attended by my own physicians," and he was embarrassed by what appeared to be some sort of palsy or onset of Parkinson's. He put himself into seclusion.

Unscrupulous people heard about this and what they did is they would go into a museum – typical would be the National Gallery in Washington – and they would photograph a famous painting, for example The Last Supper. Then they would photomechanically reproduce it, and put a pencil Dalí signature on it and say, "Oh the master is on his deathbed, get this Dalí before he dies and it will be worth a gazillion dollars."

So the market got flooded. When Dalí passed away in 1989, those who had bought these prints thought they were going to be instantly rich because they purchased them prior to his death. However, there was no definitive reference guide.

Albert Field was working at that time on completing his book, but he took a long time. It didn't come out till 1996.

Well, lo and behold, most galleries refused to do anything with Dalí until there was a definitive reference guide.

Since the publication of Field's book, the market for the authentic Dalís is doing extremely well. And the other ones are just washing away.

FAR: How easy is it to tell the difference between the real and the fake?

BH: Well, if you look at Albert Field's book, it literally is a tell-all for the collector. You read the book, you follow what he says is good, you're assured you have an authentic Dalí.

The problem is that now with the Internet and Cable TV auctions, and the cruise line auctions, it has fostered a whole new round of the fakery. The people who were holding onto the fakes could not market them through their galleries or whatever and they've now dumped them, and suddenly online and TV auctions – the worst is eBay® – have now come forth where there's no reliability. They don't tell people, "This is listed in the Albert Field book." They totally avoid the situation. Sellers of fake art on eBay probably do more damage than maybe even Park West from the standpoint of, people get it on eBay and if they later find out it is not authentic, they have no recourse against eBay. eBay says, "We're a billboard. We're a listing service. You take it up with the seller." And that's the end of it. You can't blame eBay in that respect.

Now, do real, knowledgeable collectors go there? No. Because they know that well over 90% of the eBay Dalí is not authentic.

Dalí values have risen since the Field book came out. That's what happens with any famous artist: nobody fakes or copies unknown artists. As the values rise, there's the invitation for the fakery.

Their defense when they're told, "This work does not exist in the Dalí archives or Mr. Field's book" is, "Mr. Field rushed the book out and failed to include it." He started the book in 1956 and completed it in 1996. Forty years is not a rushed job.

This is what they'll do with Dalí. They'll put a signature on it and say that it came from Albaretto, this and that, and with regard to the other graphics that they're selling that are not in Albert Field's book, they're coming up with these stories, "Long lost, put away in a vault, never seen by the public over the last 37 years." Truthfully, when publishers produce an edition it's for immediate sale. They don't put these in pickle jars and think they're going to be worth more in 30 years – it's for sale. It's commerce.

Essentially what they are is what we and the art field dubs a pastiche. They take favorite themes of Dalí and they recreate it, putting it on some piece of paper saying it's him.

Selling Dalí was a struggle up until 1996 when Field got out the book, and then it was up, up and away.

FAR: Can you explain what a litho is?

BH: I'll give you the definition that was accepted in the US District Court in Hawaii vs. Center Art Gallery, because in that case too, their representations about anything that a prospective purchaser in Hawaii looked at, were, "This is an original litho. This is an original etching." Well the definition is that when an artist sits down and by his own hand works into a plate or stone for the purpose of producing a limited edition series that was not taken from any other of his artwork, it can be called original litho if the process is litho or original etching if it's etched into a plate. If it's anything else it should be termed cooperative.

Cooperative means, in the case of Dalí or any other artist, he did a painting, other artisans recreated it with a degree of his supervision, and that is called cooperative.

Most of these that people call original are in fact cooperatives.

FAR: What has your connection been with Park West?

BH: We just get calls from people who have bought prints at the cruise line auctions mainly. They get home and find out that they have been taken and that what they bought is not worth anything like what they have been told.

We try to help these folks out but essentially they have been ripped off. I think these people must check their brains on the dock before they go up the gangplank.

The fact is that these people are shown an Albert Scaglione document saying that it's worth umpteen thousands when in fact it would be worth far, far less, even if it was real. A Divine Comedy he says is worth $8-12,000, when in effect it's worth maybe $1,200.

On the Dalí side it's not just the misrepresentations as to the value of what they are selling. It's the actual authenticity of the art. I believe there is an implied warranty that when you buy art, it is authentic. You, the purchaser, should not have to prove it, but the art seller should warrant automatically that it is authentic.

We're seeing things, that are not in the official catalog of the graphic work of Dalí by Albert Field, listed and sold as "authentic" according to Park West. We know they're not.

The reason they come to us is because when they do a Google search, we come up first. They ask me. And I can only deal one way and that's honestly. Prices are negotiable. Integrity is not. If I was not an honest person, I could take a stance of, "Oh yeah, I'll just tell them it's great and oh yeah, let me try to sell you mine." It won't work for me.

FAR: How long have you been getting calls from Park West auction "victims" and how often do you get them?

BH: We get at least one call a day, if not more. That's been going on for the last seven or eight years. It gets intensified.

FAR: What's the typical complaint or question?

BH: The typical complaint is, they step off the cruise ship and they think that they're going to become instantly wealthy, to a large degree because they have been told they got this at a special price that's only available out at sea, not on land. And unfortunately they are sobered up very quickly when they find out they were hoodwinked. The representations that the "auctioneers" give these people is far beyond what the contract states. But people want to believe what they hear, not what is.

Fine Art Registry did a great job of dissecting that invoice. (Read the article here.) If people would sit down and say, "Let me take that invoice back to my cabin and read it carefully," they wouldn't bid.

Is it truly an auction? No. Because they find out later that Park West has the ownership of the art. They foolishly rely on Park West's "appraisals" as to its value, which is an absolute no-no. If you're in Washington State or California, or somewhere, it's an absolute violation for the seller to have a vested interest in the outcome of the sale and to be its appraiser, whether it's real or personal property.

They're out at sea. You know where this comes from? When people go on ships they can get other things duty free, etc. Liquor may be less expensive because there's no excise tax. And they think the art customer is getting the same savings.

I hope one day this comes to an end with Park West.

One of the people who called us was a deputy District Attorney in a city in California. He paid $16,000 for three of these Divine Comedy prints that are worth about $250 apiece. He asked me, "What should I do?" I said, "Do you have stationery there?" He said, "I can't do that; it's personal. But I'll include my business card." He got an immediate response: "In your case we're going to make an exception. We're going to refund your money but you have to sign this agreement that you can't reveal anything." He said, "You know what? I'm not going to do that. I'm an officer of the court. If any of their ships dock in LA County I may make this a bigger issue." He got his money back very quickly. Others are not so fortunate. You wonder why they would do that for a DA and not for regular customers.

FAR: What do you think about the so-called auction process involved?

BH: In an auction, third parties bring pieces to an auction house like Christie's, Sotheby's, who sell them for them. With Park West, this is material owned by Albert Scaglione for which he wrongfully puts forth an appraisal of his value, and the back of the invoice has a disclaimer, too, but these people see numbers flashing.

There is another reason these Park West "auctions" are not real auctions. The illusion is that you are bidding on the item up on the block and the idea is that that is what you will receive, but that's not true. Just read the contract. This is an example of what you will receive which may vary considerably from what you bid on. You actually don't know what you are buying. I consider it to be a total misrepresentation. "And now we're auctioning off a blah blah blah," but you do not get what's being auctioned off. That to me is a direct violation.

FAR: Is it other cruise line auctions as well or is it just Park West?

BH: Predominantly, I would say 98%, it's Park West.

What I found out from certain people who had contracts on cruise ships is that Park West outbids them because I guess when you're selling fake art you have a bigger margin and you can stifle the competition.

I've heard certain cruise lines will not have Park West because of the mounting number of complaints directed straight at the cruise line because of them.

People go on the ship, the auctioneers say Norwegian Cruise Lines has a fine reputation, and they think that that is who they're ultimately somewhat dealing with. They think that it's an endorsement of Park West because it's a fine cruise ship company.

There was one girl who called us. She was an attorney in Michigan. Her client was a very wealthy Brit who had gone ahead and made these purchases and then found out that they were false.

Sarah Kahn, the attorney, put together a very forceful argument against Park West. Well finally they agreed to refund the money because her client had a lot of money and she could have punished them with legal fees. They said, "OK, we'll refund the money. Send us the artwork in, we'll send you a check." And it was suggested that Park West meet her at the law office, because it's in their home town, to exchange the art. No, they didn't want to do that. And this woman was fearful they would say that it hadn't been returned, that the box was empty or that it wasn't the same one. So she went after Norwegian Cruise Lines. She did get, what I understood, was a happy settlement from Norwegian Cruise Line.

FAR: What's your advice to people who want to buy Dalí art in these cruise line auctions?

BH: I wish people would be cautionary before they even go there. Unfortunately, they're victims before they come to us.

A lot of old folks are prone to be victims very easily. They're on a cruise and maybe they have a shrinking value of a social security check and a little nest egg, and some talented guy puts the arm around and says, "You know, Mary and John, you can take this and you can sell it on land for twice what you paid here." And they go, "You know, that's a good way we can get a big jump on our retirement."

It's horrible. Park West and its people have no conscience.

One guy was smart. He called me from a ship and said, "I've got to talk fast. I'm on ship-to-shore radio. I went in the Internet lounge. There's a print they say is worth $XXXX. Should I buy?" I said, "Do not buy."

Later he said, "Oh you saved me, thank you." Most people won't do that.

That's the very apparatus that these slick people at Park West know. They know that if they were on land, people would say, "Maybe we should bring our computers with us to the auction, do some research, check it out. Oops, here's report after report of rip-offs. Let's get outta here, honey." Can you get out of here? Yes, you can go back to your cabin. Will you do that? Do you have Internet access at the auction on a ship? No.

I hate to say this. Park West is the bandit; but the victims, why do they do this? They think they're getting something of tremendous value for much less than it really should be selling for because they're out at sea.

And when people will listen to representations by these slick tongues, saying, "Oh, you can take this back home and sell it for X amount. Why do they believe that?"

PT Barnum made a famous statement we all know. "There's a sucker born every minute." However, they walked away from him and didn't hear what he said in the next sentence. "And there are ten con men born the same minute to try and take that one sucker."

So yes, I do put a lot of blame on Park West. I think their actions are horrible. And I hate to say it, but these people who get taken are not very smart to fall for it.

If you want to collect Dalí, then do your research and buy from reputable dealers and galleries, not out at sea under the influence of free champagne from an outfit that's been proven over and over to be passing off inauthentic pieces and grossly misrepresenting the value of what they are selling.

But good things are happening for Dalí. There's a major exhibit opening in LA called Dalí in Film. It was at the Tate Modern in London and it will be here for a couple of months and then it’s going on to the Dalí Museum.

The Philadelphia Art Museum held a Dalí exhibition from February to May 2005 and extended for two extra weeks where there was a huge attendance. A lot of people googled and they got jazzed and they wanted to buy some Dalí. So we picked up some 50 new collectors just off that exhibit.

But it's a battle. The good guys I hope will prevail on this.

Park West's immediate response when people put up any objection as to the authenticity of the work is, "We have 70,000 sq. ft. of space, we have over 100,000 satisfied customers." What does that have to do with this particular piece of artwork that they have just sold somebody?

There's always an implied warranty when you buy art that the seller is giving you something whose authenticity does not need to be proved by you the purchaser. It's implied that it is authentic. I think this is their first violation – not selling authentic Dalí work.

What they should do is ask the cruise ship auctioneer, "How come you don't have the official catalog here so I can see it in the reference book?"

The book is The Official Catalog of the Graphic Work of Salvador Dalí by Albert Field.

This is a book that Dalí instructed Mr. Field with a written letter to do and it was with Dalí's full participation.

FAR: How does Park West avoid the evidence contained in Albert Field's book?

BH: Another integral part that helps them do their nasty work is they have this self-professed Dalí expert Bernard Ewell.

He supposedly has all these appraisal credentials. I've argued with him. I've said, "If you're an appraiser, how come you don't put out a dollar figure on these 'Albaretto etchings' that Park West is selling at sea?" "They didn’t ask me to do that," he said. Well come on. But he says they're authentic!

Where I also feel these works are so false, not only not in Albert's book, but you look at the signatures. They're all the same. And we feel they're done with an auto pencil device.

FAR: Are not all the pieces that are signed in pencil signed by Dalí?

BH: Well, that's dubious if they are, because we have a collector who got ahold of us, he was in Portland. He bought some work from the Biblia Sacra. Rizzoli of Rome published it in 1969. And Albert Field's book specifically said of those pieces, "The works are not signed [by Dalí]." And he got these from Park West that have different colored pencil signatures right in the body of the work. And I referred him to Albert's book. I told him, "He said they're not signed." I feel and others feel that Park West is applying some sort of Dalí signature to the works to enhance their value, to make them look like they're something special or different.

And they're also stating that this comes from a Giuseppe Albaretto collection and that only 50 were done. Well, in fact Albert's book says the edition is much larger and there's no attribution to Albaretto in this book. Prior to this book coming out, the Albarettos knew that Mr. Field was producing the catalog, and they wined and dined him in Milan, Italy. Yet he did not put any of their works in his book. I often asked Albert before he passed away, "What determined what would be in your book?" He told me he asked publishers to show him a contract that Dalí signed with them to do it. The Albarettos failed to produce one.

Several years ago, I think in 2003, the Albarettos tried to enhance their image. They had a big exhibit in Stuttgart, Germany. Certain people were alerted. The police, a Detective Ernst Schuller, did an investigation there. And he had forensic experts demand contracts that the Albarettos stated that they had with Dalí. They did supply some. There was an article published in a German newspaper in August 2004 stating that forensic experts had found that these so-called contracts were typed on a typewriter that wasn't produced until ten years after the date of the contract. Schuler also told me that the paper that these prints were printed on did not exist in the 70s. It was milled in the 80s, long after Dalí stopped signing.

I asked the detective, "Well where did the investigation go?" And he said, because it was jurisdictional, they were no longer in Germany after their exhibit, they rushed back to Italy, it was cross-border and he couldn't do anything. He didn't have the funds to pursue it.

Additionally, in 2001, Albert Field, the Dalí archivist, was asked to go into a warehouse in Brooklyn to look at these Albaretto etchings. He said he and his assistant Frank Hunter saw 10,000 sheets, ceiling to floor. They knew this was bogus. They walked out. Scaglione threatened to ruin him. Albert Field took this issue to the FBI. They did nothing about it.

FAR: What's the best solution for someone who has walked off the ship, and they've been told it's a genuine Dalí, and they paid umpteen thousand dollars for it? Now they've got home and they've got this object, what should they do? How do they find out for sure?

BH: Go to the Albert Field book. If it's in there, so described, you have something that's authentic.

If it's not, if it were me, I wouldn't accept the shipment. I would refuse it, and if I had paid with a Park West Credit Card and hadn't put forth any money, I would cut the card in half and send it back to them stating the reasons why I didn't want it. If it's not in the Albert Field book, you don't want to own it. I'm not an attorney and can't give legal advice. But that's what I would do.

FAR: We have not had anyone come forward with any evidence that says they've made a great investment and turned it at auction for a profit.

BH: No. Nobody has. They use the aspect of being out at sea because it's a giant moat. Nobody will get in an Internet lounge for $35 for a half hour to do some qualified research to see that they're getting ripped off. They use these captive audiences on the ships, and as you know, they ply them with champagne. These are a lot of ex-disk jockeys who are very glib tongued, that make representations that are wholly wrongful about the involvement of the artist. About a Divine Comedy print, I heard collectors say, "I was told that only Dalí’s hands touched this."

They're operating where the people cannot check this out from where they are. It's amazing that these people think that because they're at sea there's such a wonderful bargain there and they’re getting this at less than land sale and that they can enrich themselves the minute they get off the ship, by selling it for a lot more.

I partially blame the victims for being so gullible as to believe that you can get something for however many thousands and when you get off the gangplank all you have to do is go sell it to somebody else for three times what you paid.

FAR: What can we do collectively?

BH: We have to stop it before it happens. Once these people pay them the money, it's hard to get it back.

It needs to be stopped on a level where the cruise ships feel their reputation is at stake.

I think the issue of the authenticity of the work is the implied warranty that's being violated. But I'm not an attorney.

It's certainly not a legitimate auction.

I sense there's a groundswell happening: people not standing for it.

There's a lot of civil actions against them. There's investigations. I am told that there is a federal investigation under way. I hope it goes through.

I think what essentially has to happen is there has to be some real harsh punishment on Park West where they have to modify their practices or just be put out of business.

And that will be an end to it.

About Bruce Hochman

As the driving force behind the publication of Albert Field's catalog of Dalí's graphic works, Bruce helped enlighten the art world and brought about a new wave of Dalí popularity in the late 1980s and 90s.

It all started in 1987 when Bruce worked as an art consultant for a Beverly Hills gallery. Interest in Dalí was growing at the time, but came to an abrupt halt after 60 Minutes exposed a world-wide influx of Dalí forgeries. Bruce made it his mission to revive the public's faith.

He accomplished this by aligning himself with Albert Field, a longtime Dalí friend and Dalí’s personally-appointed archivist. Field planned to publish a catalog of Dalí’s works that would put an end to the speculation about which pieces were authentic and which were not. But funding and production problems were holding up publication of the catalog.

Bruce got the project back on track. He and Field mounted a Dalí exhibit in Los Angeles and produced a small catalog of the works exhibited at the show. Field expanded this small catalog into an exhaustive master catalog, published by the Salvador Dalí Archives in 1996 as The Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dalí.

The Albert Field catalog is now the definitive source of information on all things Dalí.

On March 9, 1996, Bruce Hochman was inducted into the prestigious "Order of Salvador" at the Salvador Dalí Museum in recognition of support and contributions to The Salvador Dalí Museum.

Bruce Hochman now operates the Salvador Dalí Gallery in San Juan Capistrano, California.

Share your experiences with Park West at Sea on the FAR forum.
Read More About FAR's investigation into the
Park West at Sea Art Auctions and submit a complaint here.

— by David Phillips  |  November 6, 2007  |  Print Version - PDF (1.1 Mb)

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