• Artists and Marketing Your Work: Let’s Keep It Real! Series #2 - Part 2
• Artists and Marketing Your Work: Let’s Keep It Real! Series #2 - Part 1
• Georges Seurat: Neo-French Impressionist
• Self Promoting Yourself as a Visual Artist Starts with You!
• Fine Art Registry® Making a Difference in an Unregulated Art Industry
• Do Your Homework Before Attending a Park West Gallery VIP Auction: Truth to Power #44 Part 4
• Understanding the Park West Gallery VIP Auction: Truth to Power #44 Part 3
• If You Are Even THINKING ABOUT Attending a Park West Gallery VIP Auction: Truth to Power #44 Part 2
• Park West Gallery VIP Auction Events Consumer WARNING: Truth to Power #44 Part 1
• NEW EVIDENCE - Park West Gallery Investment Scheme Objective

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Park West Gallery Litigation Update #8:

Corruption, Manipulation, Deceit and Worthless Park West Gallery Appraisals

Read the previous Park West Gallery Litigation Updates

The 21st Century Snake Oil Salesman and the Underbelly of Cruise Ship Art Sales

It is appropriate before launching into the meat of this article concerning corruption and racketeering on an international scale on the high seas and on land, to attempt to define or explain art crime from a sociological perspective.

Fine Art Registry® has interviewed scores of Park West Gallery victims, and has published many case studies. There are those that say "Caveat Emptor" should have prevailed and that the victims should have had better sense. It's very easy for those who have never been the subject of the deception of Park West Gallery, and those who have not had their bank accounts laid waste as a result of the fraud committed, to banter on about what they would have done in the same situation or position. We are certain that the same can be said about the Madoff victims. We would all like to believe that "we" unlike "they" would never be caught in such a deception.

It is therefore important to explain or attempt to explain just how Park West Gallery is able to con hundreds of thousands of cruise passengers (as well as customers at land based auctions) sometimes out of their life's savings. Some of Park West Gallery's sales tactics are so subtle that it would and often does fool even the intelligent and savvy. Park West Gallery preys on all sorts of victims - they make no distinction - doctors, lawyers, college students, retirees, and especially the elderly are all subject to the rip off. Some of the less obvious victims, but nonetheless significant are: U.S. Customs, the Internal Revenue Service and Property & Casualty insurers. When these governmental agencies and private insurers are cheated, we all lose in the form of higher taxes and increased insurance premiums.

In at least the last decade that Park West Gallery has operated at sea, not a single investigative agency or any other art-related watchdog group (if any are active and do exist) other than Fine Art Registry and now, The Fine Art Advocacy Foundation has taken the time to focus on certain key fraudulent tactics used by Park West Gallery. It has been an arduous, time consuming and very expensive task for Fine Art Registry to investigate and uncover the deception and fraud that Park West Gallery has perpetrated for well over a decade aboard cruise ships and on land, all with the blessing and cooperation of the cruise lines. Like vampires are to blood, Park West Gallery continues to bleed victims long after the cruise, using the cruise lines' passenger lists, and of course the cruise lines continually enriching themselves with their cut of the sales proceeds.

Fine Art Registry is also confident that up until the start of its investigation in April 2007, Park West Gallery and the cruise lines never thought for a minute that anyone would ever take the time to inspect the underbelly of their operation. For Fine Art Registry and our small team, it has been a complicated labyrinth of deception that has taken a great deal of effort to sort out. At the outset Park West Gallery and its lawyers were arrogantly confident that they would crush Fine Art Registry and beat it out of existence - break its legs within the confines of the court system. We are certain that Albert Scaglione has spent a great deal of money wining and dining the executives of cruise lines - promising them that he would make it all go away and they would be back in the fat some day. They all underestimated the Fine Art Registry resolve to expose the truth, no matter the cost. And that's what Fine Art Registry® and The Fine Art Advocacy Foundation™ will continue to do until major reform is demonstrated or until law enforcement steps in and stops the crime.

Art Crime, Definition and Scope

Art is venerated, acclaimed, respected and adored, but largely misunderstood. If one takes into account that the majority of Park West Gallery sales are to neophytes or novices - meaning individuals that have never purchased a serious work of art in their lives, much less attended a legitimate auction prior to stepping into one of the Park West Gallery sales events - then it is not so hard to understand how easily one can be sucked in or taken by the slick salesmen employed by Park West Gallery; and trust us when we say that Park West Gallery capitalizes on unawareness and lack of knowledge.

Art crimes are criminally punishable acts. This includes theft, damage, and in the case of Park West Gallery, pure, unadulterated deceit. Park West Gallery is deceitful when it produces and markets fakes and forgeries and represents them as legitimate, "as-issued", "pristine", "rare works" of art and further represents them to be "great investments" with "impeccable provenance" as is the case with the nearly half-million dollar sale of forged works of art sold by Park West Gallery to Sharon Day and Julian Howard. (See the Day/Howard Case Study and Day/Howard Investigation Video.)

In order for art crimes to be punished, they must first be reported. Many art crimes go unreported because, as in the case of the victims of Park West Gallery sales, people are often embarrassed to come forward and admit they were duped. Very few art fraud cases are ever reported to law enforcement. And even when they are, they are often discouraged by law enforcement because, quite frankly, law enforcement doesn't have the resources (manpower and funds) or art industry knowledge to effectively prosecute. So that leaves us with a huge dilemma. Many police departments and local law enforcement agencies look upon art crime as unimportant in comparison to the more serious crimes of murder, rape, and global terrorism.

Art crime, however, is arguably the third largest crime behind drug trafficking and illegal arms. Art is often used in crime to launder money and so on. So what does one do when confronted with an art crime of deception? Report it, of course, no matter how embarrassed you might feel. Know that you are never the only one and the more that come forward about the crime, the more likely something will be done about it. The Fine Art Advocacy Foundation is a terrific resource for victims of art crime and each and every complaint received is taken seriously.

The art crime trade in fake and forged prints is increasing at an alarming rate and with the advent of the Internet, it is even more widespread. (See Truth in the Fine Art Industry: Limited Edition Reproductions.) Motive and opportunity drive the art crime trade in prints and multiples. There is a great deal of money to be made from spurious, faked, and forged prints, and Park West Gallery and the cruise lines are prime examples of the disgusting amounts of money that have been made off the backs of innocent victims who merely trusted in the cruise brand names when sailing on vacation. We are hard pressed to contemplate a more vulnerable scenario for innocent victims.

Demonstrating the sheer profits Park West Gallery and the cruise lines are making from peddling art aboard cruise ships, we quote an ex-auctioneer who recently reported to Fine Art Registry regarding one of Park West Gallery's star auctioneers (who has no art experience and was a member of a band on cruise ships before taking a position with Park West Gallery. Unfortunately, it was recently reported to us that this huckster is now in charge of "training" cruise ship auctioneers for Park West Gallery).

As disgusting as it is to report, the same Park West Gallery auctioneer, Stoney Goldstein reportedly changed his name to "Goldstein" to appeal to the "Jewish" passengers onboard ships in order to increase his sales and commissions. Imagine, if Goldstein is able to solve the "world famine crisis" with the commissions he's made, how much Park West Gallery and the cruise lines have benefited from these spurious sales. Another Park West Gallery ex-auctioneer reported the following to us concerning Stoney Goldstein.

Economic and Cultural Value Inextricably Tied to Authenticity and Provenance

The value of an art piece is typically thought of in "economic" terms, but art also has a "cultural" value. The authenticity of an art object is, or should be, of great consequence to collectors because judgments are affected by the identity of the person who produced it. Dalí is a prime example of this. Like Picasso, Dali's name is famous and easily recognized. Park West Gallery banks on the fact that names like Dalí and Picasso are easily recognizable as master artists and can therefore reference how works of art by these artists have sold for multi-millions - leading novices to believe that the artwork Park West Gallery is selling is also as highly collectible and desirable. This is part of the Park West Gallery deception and is an integral element of its scheme used in its deceptive and unfair trade practices.

Fakes and forgeries that purport to be the works of well-known artists like Dalí are devalued and the more that come onto the market, the less and less confidence buyers will have. In fact, as Fine Art Registry has reported endlessly, value is inextricably linked or tied to correct and proper provenance or a documented "line of descent." As it relates to the sale of Park West Gallery Dali Divine Comedy artwork, and especially those prints that Park West Gallery claim are signed by the hand of Dalí himself, they offer NO supporting documentation of any kind showing incontrovertible evidence that proves Dali signed the prints. Park West Gallery has not to this date, through its legal counsel, or otherwise in this litigation, provided or disclosed any credible documentation that any of the Dalí prints it is selling or has sold over the last decade have a solid documentary "line of descent." Rather, Park West Gallery sources of the Dalí prints represent shady European characters - wild yarns and fantastical stories from the Park West Gallery sources of the prints (Marc Ways, Daniel David, and Philippe du Noyer) abound, with absolutely no basis in fact. We will report on this in much more detail in future articles on the Park West Gallery so-called "impeccable" provenance (or the hopeless lack thereof).

Park West Gallery Auctioneers - The Cult of Fork Tongued Artfully Crafted Chatter

In order for Park West Gallery and the cruise lines to be as enormously successful as they have been, raking in hundreds of millions of dollars for artwork that usually isn't even on the ships at the time of purchase or at the time of auction, it is important that Park West Gallery make certain that its salesmen or auctioneers convert cruise passengers who have never purchased art before into spenders - BIG spenders. To be successful, Park West Gallery auctioneers must be trained to employ enthusiasm. Park West employs esoteric and theoretical jargon in an attempt to heighten the perceived value of the artwork. Art is valued in part by the "feelings" it invokes from viewers, and Park West Gallery is master at translating those visual depictions and emotions into words. The process which is taught at the Southfield, Michigan gallery is assisted by a vague and mysterious language that creates a false aura around works of art.

Park West Gallery auctioneers are trained in an "artfully crafted chatter" or in the use of "weasel words". They speak with a forked-tongue and they lavish cruise passengers with a hefty dose of pretension in their sales pitches, meaning that Park West Gallery auctioneers make certain that the prospective buyer feels "out of his or her depth" - thus gaining a psychological advantage over the victim or a "one-up" on the victim, and if the Park West Gallery auctioneers can instill a sense of education or cultural obligation or make the victim feel as if they are contributing to the importance of the art world, then all the better. It is true that superlatives for all occasions is the order of the day for Park West Gallery auctioneers, making even "insincere" flattery or adulation of an artwork seem like sheer perfection.

The Reputable Fine Art Dealer Contrasted with the Commercial Art Peddler Park West Gallery

When a commercial art dealer like Park West Gallery (distinguished from a "fine art" dealer), encourages cruise passengers (and later passengers actively pursued by Park West post cruise) to buy as an "investment" or because the artwork will (Park West falsely claims) appreciate in monetary value, it makes a strong statement about the lack of trustworthiness on the part of Park West Gallery. Fine art dealers, meaning those that legitimately deal in fine art originals and graphics, WILL NOT MAKE SUCH CLAIMS (see the reference to fine art dealer, Leonard Fox in our discussion of Dalí Divine Comedy prints and pricing below).

To illustrate how much emphasis Park West Gallery and its auctioneer salesmen put on the "investment" sales pitch in selling its commercial art inventory, we look to a recent communication and admission that Fine Art Registry received from an ex-Park West Gallery auctioneer. The ex-auctioneer reported to Fine Art Registry, the following:

Park West Gallery continues this disgusting practice to this day as we have had at least a dozen victims who have contacted Fine Art Registry in recent days all claiming that the artwork peddled to them by Park West Gallery was pitched to them as "excellent investments."

The hallmark of an art dealer with integrity and knowledge is that they will discourage a buyer or prospective collector from making an impetuous or impulsive purchase. Park West Gallery is at the furthest end of the spectrum when it comes to dealing honestly in this regard. In fact, Park West Gallery's entire business model is built on rapid, high pressure, and "creative" sales tactics. Park West Gallery and its sales force discourage any sort of due diligence.

Reputable, honest art dealers become known by their track records of providing quality at a fair price and not offering the same work to other collectors for disparate prices. This is something that Park West Gallery is guilty of on a regular basis and is rarely consistent in its sales, which is cheating the collector, though the novice collector wouldn't necessarily know this. Again, there is only one motive in mind for Park West Gallery's so-called auctioneers aboard cruise ships and at land auctions and that is to make as much money as possible from as many "marks" as possible. It is true that the same artwork offered to passengers and sold for thousands at the beginning of a cruise will later be severely discounted on the last day of the cruise, and it is the same exact artwork. Sadly, the cruise passenger who purchased at the high end at the beginning of the cruise is never the wiser. Further, honest art dealers do not sell the same artwork to more than one client.

Unscrupulous or dodgy dealers will also disassemble or break up old books (such as Dalí Divine Comedy sets), or magazines in order to make a greater profit by selling the prints separately, and often adding (like Park West Gallery does) "limited edition numbers", "blind stamps" and forged signatures (essentially creating a completely new, false edition decades post production) which was never contemplated by the original publisher or printer, to create the perception of increased value. In the case of Park West Gallery Divine Comedy inventory, they have altogether "created a provenance" for the prints they sell. (See the Fine Art Registry article Creating Provenance.)

Dealers who are not conscientious do not take the effort to verify and supply provenance to their clients or buyers in advance or at the time of payment, or avail themselves of independent expert opinions. As stated above, Park West Gallery DOES NOT supply buyers with any kind of provenance or "independent expert opinions" at the time of sale or even after the sale, unless of course the buyer makes a claim against the artwork.

Art dealers who have extended "limited editions" by coming into possession of print plates as Park West Gallery has done with the Rembrandt plates (which they have for years lied to the public about owning), have severely polluted the market.

Novice collectors have been victimized by contemptible art dealers who provide wildly inflated estimates of the artwork's resale market. Keep in mind that the vast majority of the art Park West peddles is commercial in nature and is EXCLUSIVE to Park West Gallery, and especially in the case of the Dalí print inventory they sell. Undeniably, Park West Gallery sells the only Dali prints in the world for which a provenance has been "created" or "manufactured" and which are sourced from murky, shadowy European sources such as the Albarettos.

The bottom line: dishonorable and dishonest art dealers do not keep faith with their customers or clients or with each other. Fine Art Registry has reported extensively that this is exactly the case with Park West Gallery. After all, what reputable and honest art dealers sue its own customers and clients like Park West Gallery does?

Park West Gallery Expands Bad Faith Dealing to Intimidation, Bullying and Manipulation Tactics

In the recent past, Park West Gallery, in an attempt to make sure they hold onto the sale, used to mail to victims or claimants "authentication packages" that included slews of photocopied, convoluted and confusing correspondence and "attestations" written in foreign languages, photocopied photographs of who knows who, and included a so-called report or opinion (also photocopied) authored by appraiser Bernard Ewell that after a cursory study proved to have absolutely NOTHING to do with the prints that the victim or the claimant purchased. It was and still is the most unprofessional load of garbage Fine Art Registry has ever witnessed in the context of art "provenance."

It should be noted that it was recently discovered that Park West Gallery has been using (without copyright permission) a photograph taken in 1964 by Fine Art Registry expert, Robert Descharnes for Jean Paul Schneider, to support the legitimacy of the Albaretto collection of Dali prints Park West claims were hand signed by Dali in 1974. The hijacked or pirated photograph that Park West Gallery and the Albarettos have been using all this time in its recent marketing efforts on its web site and in order to "convince" buyers of the legitimacy of its Dali print inventory (sourcing from the Albarettos), is and has been a complete farce and a gross misrepresentation for as long as they have been using it which is probably at least the last decade. For the complete story on this subject, see our article titled, Setting the Record Straighter. Park West Gallery does not have permission nor has it sought permission nor has it paid for the use of the Descharnes photograph in its sales materials or on its web site. The copyright in the photograph belongs to Robert Descharnes (Descharnes & Descharnes) and he is entitled to payment for its use as it is being used by Park West Gallery and the Albarettos too in a commercial enterprise.

It's nothing new for Park West Gallery to hijack or pirate copyrights or trademarks. Fine Art Registry is currently suing Park West Gallery for trademark infringement and Lanham Act claims.

All of this, of course, was done in an effort to try to fool the victim or claimant into believing they had something valuable or to confuse them to the point of just giving up, or to dissuade or convince the victim from moving forward with a claim for a refund. Indeed, many a lawyer trying to help victims had no clue what to do with the mess either. For a novice or someone not well-versed in the art industry, the "package" of documents may have seemed intimidating and this often worked for Park West Gallery until the point Fine Art Registry started receiving these "authentication packages" from victims and reviewed the bogus materials therein and started to question the veracity of what was being represented as authentic works of art allegedly hand signed by Dali, among other questionable works of art.

Of late, however, Park West Gallery has taken a more direct intimidation approach by taking Park West Gallery out of the equation altogether and hiring a lawyer (Bob Goldman) who claims to be an "art expert" (wink-wink) to send intimidating letters to victims full of weasel words (yes, the Park West Gallery lawyers use them, too) among other untruthful statements. Fine Art Registry has a number of these despicable letters authored by Bob Goldman that victims and appraisal professionals have sent our way.

If anyone reading this article has received a letter from Park West Gallery's legal pillock, Bob Goldman, feel free to email it to Fine Art Registry. We may use them all for an upcoming article on Goldman titled, "It's All About Me, My Teddy Roosevelt Mustache, and Balloon Rides Over Peru With My Lil' Buddy Wittman". But seriously, victims and claimants should not be intimidated by Goldman's correspondence. His letters are sent at the behest of Park West Gallery (for which he is paid handsomely from Park West art purchase proceeds) and are nothing more than empty threats, posturing, and we might add full of narcissistic statements about Goldman's "glory days" as the self-proclaimed "most feared prosecutor" in all of Philadelphia. We'll have more on Bob Goldman coming up in future articles that our readers will not want to miss.

The tactics Park West Gallery salesmen or "auctioneers" use to manipulate cruise passengers and attendees at its sales events onboard ships and at VIP sales events on land is comparable to how someone would behave if they really were trying to earn your trust and be helpful to you. But how does one discern authentic sincerity from those that are disingenuous or dishonest? The answer is: you don't. Not with these kinds of salesmen. They are there to do one thing and one thing only: separate you from your wallet and make no mistake about it, the cruise lines are working in concert with them. Otherwise, why allow what's been going on for at least the nearly three years of our investigation to continue? Fine Art Registry is nearing 400 victims who have asked for help with Park West Gallery art purchases since it started its investigation - and this does not include nationwide class action litigants.

Pursuant to written contracts with Park West Gallery, the cruise lines set the financial bar and Park West Gallery is required to meet it - the cruise lines capturing a substantial share (30% and more) of Park West Gallery sales. We have learned from many ex-auctioneers that Park West Gallery cheats the cruise lines by siphoning or skimming off profits that the cruise lines would otherwise receive from Park West Gallery framing sales. In April of last year the following was reported to Fine Art Registry from a Park West Gallery ex-auctioneer:

In accordance with the cruise lines contracts with Park West Gallery, the cruise lines are entitled to a percentage or share of the picture framing that Park West Gallery sells (and they sell a great deal), but often Park West Gallery will add the framing that the buyer pays extra for to the so-called shipping costs in order to siphon off more profit than they are entitled to. As we have said before, when it comes to Park West Gallery, there is no honor among thieves and this is especially so between Park West Gallery and the cruise lines. They certainly deserve each other.

The Park West Gallery salesmen are trained at the Southfield, Michigan gallery to manipulate and scheme. At the heart of the con is Albert Scaglione - the mastermind of his reported multi-hundred million dollar a year enterprise. The fact is the Park West Gallery auctioneers don't enter the social scene of these pseudo auctions aboard cruise ships with any different techniques of persuasion than those of us who are truly honest and reliable. Accordingly, there is no magical "due diligence" test that one can perform quickly enough to divide the tainted from the just. At the Park West Gallery dog and pony shows, with the champagne flowing and the fast talking hawker barking at the podium (no doubt someone that Stoney Goldstein has trained), the old adage, "if it looks too good to be true, it probably is" just won't work.

There is such a thing as being lulled into a euphoric state - experts in fraud call it a "phantom" dream-like state where the environment or the state of being is so attractive and desirable (and where better for this to occur than on vacation aboard a luxury cruise ship or at an all expense paid VIP event?) whereby you let your guard down to the extent that you temporarily lose the ability to engage in skeptical thought. A skilled con man can detect and reinforce this sense of euphoria and will find that fulcrum in individuals and twist it to his advantage and sometimes in a matter of minutes.

Additionally, it is common place and it has been reported to us repeatedly that Park West Gallery auctioneers work with "shills" or other individuals to enhance their confidence game. These "shills" or accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from art purchases in the past.

Analysis and Anatomy of the Park West Gallery Certificates of Authenticity and Appraisals

In our investigation, it is has become abundantly clear from the mountain of documentary evidence and witness statements we have gathered that the Park West Gallery further manipulates cruise passengers and later VIP attendees via the Park West Gallery "Appraisal" used in conjunction with the Park West Gallery Certificate of Authenticity ("COA") as tools or "instruments" to induce cruise ship passengers and those buyers on land (who are usually former cruise passengers) to spend big money on an object that does not usually exist onboard ship or at land auctions at the time of sale. It is important to note that the Park West Gallery "appraisal" is not at all an "appraisal report" in the traditional sense and it is not even close to an appraisal report that one would expect to receive from a competent, reputable, certified appraiser. The Park West appraisal is nothing more than a statement of the Park West Gallery "retail" price or the "price according to Albert Scaglione for and on behalf of Park West".

Absent the Park West Gallery appraisal, the buyer has no point of reference for the "perceived" value, and Park West Gallery would have no basis in support (as false as it is) of the outrageous prices they charge for worthless or near worthless product. It is product that usually cannot be sold later by the original purchaser on the secondary market for even a fraction of the purchase price, much less for a profit - so much for the "investment" quality of Park West Gallery artwork. The prints and graphic market is utterly glutted and completely saturated with Park West Gallery inventory, rendering it far from rare and not at all valuable.

In other words, without the appraisal and accompanying COA, Park West Gallery would be unable to create the "phantom" dream and mistaken belief in the nonexistent financial reality they are trying to create in order to separate the cruise passenger from his or her wallet. Therefore, the Park West Gallery appraisal is a very, very important part of the Park West Gallery scam and has been used by Albert Scaglione and Park West Gallery for decades as an integral or essential part of the benefit of the bargain. Without the Park West appraisal of value representation, there would be hundreds of millions less in the Park West Gallery and cruise lines' coffers because few would have purchased anything as there would be nothing to support the amounts Park West Gallery claim the product is worth - never mind that the buyer usually doesn't even know what they are buying to begin with when they do make the agreement to purchase on board.

Consider also, that Park West Gallery uses its "appraisal" document to beguile, to insidiously discourage and/or prevent a buyer from subsequently checking into the true value (for which there are no independent records) of what Park West Gallery sells or has sold so as to call attention to the scam. The Park West Gallery Appraisal represents a "security" in every sense of the word. In reality the Park West Gallery Appraisal is a sham and a false security that cannot be relied upon as representing something of value.

The idea behind this scam (as cloaked and understated and subtle as it may be) is for Park West Gallery's sales agents (aka auctioneers) to make individuals believe that they are getting a great bargain - something for nothing, when in fact they are getting nothing for a lot of something $$$$$. This is similar to the Madoff scheme, but with a twist.

A security is defined as "an investment contract, transaction or scheme whereby a person (1) invests his/her money [Park West buyer] (2) in a common enterprise [sham art auction sales aboard cruise ships] and (3) is led to expect profits [Park West Gallery auctioneer represents the bargain "investment" using worthless Park West appraisal certificates and the buyer is encouraged to keep in touch with the auctioneer or Park West over time for updated reports on increased values] (4) solely from the efforts of the promoter or a third party [Park West Gallery and its sales reps in concert with the cruise lines]."

After having interviewed scores of Park West Gallery buyers and after having witnessed and investigated for ourselves how the Park West Gallery art auctions operate and the tremendous emphasis Park West Gallery places on its appraisals in order to induce the sale of its artwork, Fine Art Registry is convinced that Park West Gallery and the cruise lines they serve could possibly be staring into the face of violations of the "Truth in Securities" law or the "Securities Act of 1933". At the very least, Fine Art Registry believes that the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") should investigate as to whether Park West Gallery is engaged in the sale of unregistered securities.

What's more, this scheme to defraud is furthered by Park West encouraging buyers to seek updated appraisals from the gallery for an additional charge whereby the value is increased substantially in succeeding appraisal certificates all in an effort to give the false perception of increased value and all the while keeping the scheme or ploy going.

It is important to point out that Morris Shapiro was the Park West Gallery employee responsible for the sale of nearly a half million dollars of forged Dali artwork to Sharon Day and Julian Howard - the money paid by Sharon Day and Julian Howard was wired directly into a Bank of America account in Texas, OWNED by Royal Caribbean, from which Park West Gallery was paid its percentage - the cruise line retaining its cut of the action, or a reported $140,000. (See the Day/Howard Case Study and Day/Howard Investigation Video.) Fine Art Registry is convinced that Park West Gallery uses its appraisals to induce buyers to believe that the appraisal itself is indeed valuable with increasing equity in the "security" with absolutely no basis or support for the values. Again, the emphasis is always placed on the appraisal or the "value" of the artwork and not the artwork itself. The financial game or gain for Park West Gallery and the cruise lines is: give them nothing for a lot $$$$$$ of something.

The Great Park West Salvador Dali Half a Million Dollar Print Swindle

In short, the way the sales are conducted by Park West Gallery aboard cruise ships is a hybrid or a spawn of fraud based in potential securities fraud. The more Fine Art Registry investigates and deliberates on the Park West Gallery and cruise lines' scheme or practice, the more we are convinced that there is a serious public policy concern.

For example, a Dalí Divine Comedy print purportedly signed by Dali was offered by Park West Gallery to a passenger on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in September 2009 for a Park West Gallery represented bargain price of $6,000. It was also represented as a great investment - a terrific deal, because the appraisal or the "Park West Gallery retail value" the victim was told, was $12,000, double the amount of the offer to purchase. The victim reasonably believed and relied on the statement of the auctioneer and trusted in the cruise brand on which he sailed and thought he was indeed receiving instant equity of $6,000 based on the Park West Gallery appraisal of $12,000.

Additionally, the buyers we have interviewed are genuinely convinced by, and do rely on the representations of value by Park West Gallery auctioneers as well as the figure stated on the Park West paper appraisals - that there is instant and significant equity in the artwork before it is even purchased. The emphasis is therefore not placed on the artwork itself but rather on the appraisal that is placed on the art object by Park West. People trust in Park West Gallery auctioneers (and the cruise lines, too) when it is represented to them that the Park West Gallery appraisals are like "money in the bank". Park West Gallery accordingly treats the appraisals as investments or "securities" or "paper certificates" evidencing ownership of equity (much like stocks). Fraud is perpetrated on the Internal Revenue Service through inflated appraisals, as well as on the insurance carriers which we, as stated above, will address in detail in future articles. (See The Great Park West Gallery $40 Million Donation... Honest Objective or Sham? .)

Further, purposely and completely omitted from the Park West Gallery salesman or auctioneer's representation is the fact that the Park West appraisal (which is NOT available or on display at the time of the sales pitch or auction event) is nothing more than a preprinted boilerplate “photocopied” form which just happens to be an EXACT copy (word for word) of the Park West Certificate of Authenticity. We have demonstrated in a graphic the nearly exact similarities between the Park West Gallery Certificate of Authenticity and the Park West Appraisal below.

Park West Gallery Appraisal, page 1 of 3

Park West Gallery Appraisal, page 2 of 3

Park West Gallery Appraisal, page 3 of 3

Park West Gallery Certificate of Authenticity, page 1 of 3

Park West Gallery Certificate of Authenticity, page 2 of 3

Park West Gallery Certificate of Authenticity, page 3 of 3

The Park West Gallery Appraisal always bears a facsimile signature of Albert Scaglione or sometimes Morris Shapiro or in rarer instances, Albert Molina, and is nothing more than an unprofessional photocopy of a photocopy of Park West letterhead, clearly run off on copy machines and no doubt sitting in stacks in a warehouse somewhere ready to be matched to the commercial, industrial grade artwork that is to be shipped to the unsuspecting buyer. For each and every Park West appraisal photocopy, the buyer of the artwork is charged $35 for the first appraisal and $15 for any additional ones bought at the same time. So, if you purchase five Dali pieces and want an appraisal for each, you are charged $35.00 for the first appraisal and $15 for each of the others, a total of $95. There has been absolutely zero evidence anywhere that Park West Gallery formally “certifies” its appraisals using any independent, reputable, third party appraiser source. This is because there is no value to the bulk of what Park West Gallery is selling that can even come remotely close to the prices they are appraising their own artwork for. It is also important to note that neither Albert Scaglione nor Morris Shapiro is a certified appraiser and even if they were, it would be a conflict of interest to appraise artwork that the gallery owns outright which is all of its stock. It is in Albert Scaglione and Park West Gallery's best interest, of course, to make sure that what the gallery sells is appraised at a nice fat margin over and above what is charged to the customer. Otherwise, that customer just may suspect something is up and go digging for values, and the last thing Albert Scaglione and Park West Gallery want is for a buyer to pull back the curtain and expose the Wizard.

The Park West Gallery Appraisals are a racket. Never mind the artwork. The charge for the worthless Park West appraisals can make a man rich. Heck, one can go to Etrade and spend $35.00 on a legitimate security or a share of stock and actually own a share of a company, something that is liquid. Though Park West Gallery leads its buyers to believe otherwise, its artwork is NOT liquid because it's supported by the Park West Gallery appraisal. Not by any stretch of the imagination. The Park West auctioneers give a false sense of "security" as to value and indeed the appraisal is the mechanism used to dupe the unsuspecting buyer which is usually only referenced verbally at the time of sale, or is shown to the prospective buyer using the auctioneer's "POS" (point of sale system). Park West will certainly deny this post sale if a problem arises as to values or authenticity as they say "verbal representations" are not part of its terms and conditions. This is perceived to give the owner equity when in fact it does not.

Take Sharon Day and Julian Howard for example. They paid $450,040.00 for their Divine Comedy Set. The Park West Gallery Appraisal referenced a value of $510,000. That's a perceived instant $60,000 bump for Sharon and Julian on day one of the sale - or so they thought. In our investigation, we have found that the Park West Gallery appraisal is always substantially above the purchase price, never the same as the purchase price, and never, ever below the purchase price. Isn't that convenient for Park West?

The spiel for Park West to the prospective buyer is: "Look at what a great bargain you are getting? See? It's an investment of a lifetime." The buyer is shown a value and then it is represented time and time again to buyers that they can make a profit from the artwork "the minute they get off the ship" because they are "buying at sea for 60-80% off land gallery prices." Or it is represented to the buyer that Park West Gallery will buy the artwork back at any time at the appraised price or for a profit from their initial investment. These are all gross misrepresentations if not outright lies by Park West Auctioneers. Park West Gallery's printed terms and conditions (and their auctioneers aren't very good at disclosing these precisely) and remember, as stated above, the terms and conditions specifically exclude any "verbal" representations that their hucksters make.

The manipulation and sleight of hand operating at these Park West Gallery sales events is very subtle. Every Park West Gallery buyer relies on the appraisal to support the value of the art product they purchase from Park West. They rely on appraisal to support their purchase that they perceive as quite valuable and in fact depend on it in order to sell the artwork one day and often rely on it for insurance replacement values.

Park West must at all costs discourage buyers from going to independent sources for value so as not to be discovered. Further, Park West Gallery knows full well that few reputable appraisers will touch Park West Gallery work to appraise it. Fine Art Registry has plenty of evidence of qualified and independent appraisers valuing the work that people paid thousands for, at pennies on the dollar. Sharon Day and Julian Howard were confronted with this reality after they tried to sell the set months after buying it. At first, Day and Howard offered to have Park West Gallery buy the set back. That was never going to happen. Sotheby's told Sharon Day that the prints were worth at most (if indeed they were authentically signed by Dali) $.10 cents on the dollar or about $510.00 each - a far cry from the Park West Gallery appraisal of $5,100.00 each. We know now the prints have no value because they are forged.

Accordingly, to pay $35 for a Park West Gallery Appraisal is an investment in a worthless "security" that will not bring any return value whatsoever. And as already mentioned above, an individual can log onto Etrade.com and purchase from the U.S. Stock Exchange, shares in a rock solid company (as solid as they can be these days anyway) for $35.00 a share or less - shares in stocks that are actually worth something today and that may increase in value over time. Not the case with Park West Gallery appraisals.

Another very crucial part of the scam is for Park West Gallery auctioneers to encourage buyers to call or email them after the sale so they can update the customers on how much their "investments" have increased in value over time. This is part of the auctioneer's grift or con. The Park West Gallery auctioneers exploit typical human qualities and the common factor is that the "mark", in this case, the Park West customer, relies on the good faith of the con artist. To this end, many if not all auctioneers provide buyers with their cell phone numbers. Most buyers will never hear from the auctioneer (unless it is to invite them to a Park West VIP event), but if a problem or a question with the artwork arises, you can forget about it. Moreover, the phone numbers and email addresses handed out often don't even work. This is just another way for Park West Gallery and its auctioneers to keep the flim flam or scheme going - to lead buyers to believe and continue believing in the fact that they have purchased a valuable investment portfolio of artwork.

As an aside, many people use these worthless Park West Gallery appraisals for insurance purposes; if the insurance carriers only knew the fraud that is being perpetrated here, we doubt many policies or riders would be issued. Underwriters need to pay heed. They don't even realize that they are underwriting and insuring fake, forged, and near worthless artwork. Many victims have learned that they have been paying insurance premiums that are more than what the artwork is worth. But we digress. Suffice it to state that there is potential insurance fraud here that we will address in a future article when time permits.

Of great importance is the fact that Park West Gallery charges for its appraisals as a separate line item on the Park West Gallery invoice and it is usually delivered separately from the artwork via the U.S. Mail (at least as far as we know to date) long after the artwork has been bought. This is also a crucial part of the con. Park West may have changed procedure recently in anticipation of what we are investigating.

It is important to note that art dealers like Park West Gallery are not licensed. Anyone can enter the art business, hang up a shingle, and jump on a cruise ship and start peddling art. Most of the auctioneers hired by Park West Gallery to hawk its art are inexperienced ex-shipboard employees and others with no art experience whatsoever. Park West Gallery discourages those with art degrees or those with extensive art experience. This is because they do not want anyone to look too close - that will blow the whistle. Jill Carr, an ex-auctioneer trainee for Park West Gallery, with two degrees in fine art can tell you first hand what experience she had with the Park West Gallery training. As soon as she started to question things, she was booted from the program.

The art market is unregulated, fast and free. Where million dollar deals are done, there are few formal contracts. Though the art market operates in the multi-billions every year, it is nonetheless a small world - most dealers, galleries and auction houses know each other well, and those running them are tight knit. Occasionally, however, where greed is the primary motivator, some in the art market are indicted and do go to jail for their fraud and dirty dealing.

Independent Third-Party Values

Interestingly, as touched on above, no formal, independent third-party appraisals exist for Park West Gallery artwork, at least not in any of the cases we have reviewed. It is all done in house by Park West Gallery in what is known in the industry as a "closed market", meaning no independent third party records exist to support the values OUTSIDE of Park West Gallery's own internal sales records. Wouldn't we all just love to have the ability and acceptance on the real estate market to appraise our own homes, especially in this horrible economy and housing market? This would be Nirvana, but not reality. Yet this is exactly what Park West Gallery does - they appraise their own artwork and it is not overly stated to say they do so arbitrarily, or rather, at the dictates of their own perception of how much profit they should be making on each sale.

As an example of the arbitrary Park West appraisals, recently, one of the bright and brilliant of Park West Gallery's legal team boldly admitted in a recent media news report that Park West Gallery salesman, Morris Shapiro testified in one of his recent depositions in the litigation that Park West has in the past actually sold a set of Dali's Divine Comedy for MORE than the price that Sharon Day and Julian Howard paid. (See Lawyers dismiss Park West libel case). We couldn't believe Park West's lawyer actually admitted this little gem publicly and in doing so has now disclosed even more of the protected material that Park West Gallery wanted so desperately to keep under wraps, like Morris Shapiro's deposition testimony. But now that Park West has made this admission publicly, Fine Art Registry can report that in fact Park West Gallery did sell another Divine Comedy set for a price far in excess of Sharon Day and Julian Howard's set. But frankly, we knew this before Shapiro's deposition. We had a victim contact us not long ago that claims the Dali Divine Comedy set that Park West's lawyer was referring to sold for THREE QUARTERS OF A MILLION DOLLARS - or a whopping $750,000. Morris confirmed this for us in his deposition. What Park West Gallery doesn't know (but will now, because they read everything we publish) is that the signatures on this three-quarter of a million dollar set are also believed to be forged.

So, Park West Gallery bases its appraisals on what it sells or has sold its artwork for in the past. Like most of Park West Gallery's business practices so far cited above, this practice too is false. It is a sham and it is extraordinarily deceptive. Usually, independent third party records on values can be obtained from reputable galleries, artists, other dealers (with exceptions of course) and auction houses like Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonham's, Swann's, and Heritage, etc. These auction houses (not to be confused with Park West Gallery's pseudo auctions) report sales results to reputable reporting firms, such as artprice.com, askart.com, and artnet.com so that one performing due diligence can get a relatively solid idea of the value of artwork as it exists on the secondary market or if it is even on the secondary market. There is no such thing for Park West Gallery artwork.

To hear Park West tell it their artwork inventory is worth what they say it is and that’s that. They say they use independent appraisers like Bernard Ewell and Caroline Ashleigh, but as we have reported extensively, these two individuals are far from independent and are in fact DEPENDENT on their lord and master, Park West Gallery. Nevertheless, Fine Art Registry has never seen any evidence of appraisal reports supporting Park West Gallery artwork for its living artists from any reputable and trusted third-party independent appraisers. Certainly, no one that Fine Art Registry would consider on the up and up, like Roy Saper, for example, of Saper Galleries of East Lansing, Michigan. Park West's darlings Ashleigh and Ewell are simply not credible as they have sold their souls to Albert Scaglione and cannot be trusted to be impartial and independent. (See The Great Park West Gallery $40 Million Donation, Part I and Part II.)

Moreover, there is absolutely NO SUPPORT whatsoever from any legitimate or valid auction records Fine Art Registry could locate where Park West Gallery art has been or is being sold on the secondary market to support any of the Park West so-called appraised values. Most living artists' work (the bulk of it photomechanical reproductions, enhanced or embellished by paid employees in the basement of the Michigan gallery) that Park West Gallery carries in its inventory is exclusive to Park West Gallery.

Highly Speculative Investments for Dalí Prints from Shadowy European Sources

Since Park West Gallery sells art objects that are usually not on board ship at the time of purchase, the sales made can be considered a pre-sale as the artwork is not delivered to the recipient until weeks and weeks post cruise. Further, the sales of artwork, especially as it relates to those pieces that are being sold for thousands and tens of thousands of dollars are considered speculative in nature as they are represented to prospective buyers as "investments" and/or "terrific bargains" using the appraisals self-prepared by Park West Gallery, the owners of the art objects in question.

Further, it has been determined by world experts that Park West Gallery Dalí print inventory sold by Park West through the assistance of the cruise lines, has been seriously misrepresented in almost every aspect, including the source of the works offered for sale, the authenticity of the Dali signature and the mechanism and/or provenance as to how, when and where the signature was applied to the Divine Comedy and Biblia Sacra prints sold. For example, many of the Dali art prints ultimately sold to victims have been represented as coming from certain sources in Europe and indeed no one to this day has been able to definitively, in any credible way, determine where the artwork sourced from or how the signature purported to be by Dalí was actually acquired - not even Park West Gallery and its special legal counsel, Bob Goldman, who was hired to perform what he terms as a "rigorous due diligence investigation" of Park West Gallery and its "business practices at the invitation of Albert Scaglione, Park West's CEO."

Some rigorous due diligence investigation, Bob! Fine Art Registry squarely challenged Goldman with this subject in the deposition of Fine Art Registry CEO, Theresa Franks which we will report on in the future. The fact is, Goldman merely accepted Park West Gallery's ring of European suppliers trumped up, counterfeited data forgeries and accepted Park West supplier's "fairy tale" stories about how they met Dali and how he signed tens of thousand of prints for them gratis - Park West expects us to believe Dali did this absolutely free of charge. Anyone who knew Dali will tell you - the man did nothing for FREE, much less sign thousands of prints at some obscure date and some obscure time 30 years ago as a favor because he "saw a sparkle" in someone's eye. Does Goldman actually expect a jury to buy this load of garbage? We don't believe that Bob Goldman believes his client either. After all Bob Goldman did refer to the Park West Gallery artwork as "shit" and as recently reported to Fine Art Registry, so did Morris Shapiro and other gallery employees (see Litigation Update No. 5) - so can anyone take Goldman's so called "rigorous due diligence investigation" seriously?

Goldman could not have checked with any third-party, independent sources. Otherwise, he most certainly would have discovered exactly what Fine Art Registry has discovered in its investigation. Much of what Fine Art Registry knows regarding the business practices of Park West Gallery and its art inventory has not even surfaced yet in this litigation. Fine Art Registry will continue to report on various bits and pieces in continuing updates. But there is far too much information to share completely online as much as we would like to. There is one thing for certain. We are sharing all of the inside information we have gathered with those that do care and we can assure you it's not Bob Goldman, who isn't interested in truth, but rather the pay check he draws from Park West Gallery today which is also no doubt his retirement plan for tomorrow. Make that hay while the sun shines, Bob. You never know when the rain will come.

The Crushing Reality - Current Retail Prices of Divine Comedy Woodcuts and Full Sets

Let's put into perspective now the realistic, everyday market pricing for Divine Comedy prints and full sets. It's not rocket science. Anyone can perform market research and come pretty close to the mark without hiring an appraiser. But if you want a formal opinion on value you will need to retain a first rate appraiser - but please, make sure you first know whether the print or the full set is "authentic". Without authenticity, the value won't matter and most appraisers "assume" authenticity when appraising and will explicitly disclaim anything having to do with authenticity prior to issuing an appraisal.

It is quite rare to find genuine, legitimate hand signed sets of the Divine Comedy on the market. You can pretty much bank on the fact that the max range of genuine signed sets of the Divine Comedy will go at auction (Sotheby's and Christie's) for around $60,000, give or take a few thousand, and exclusive of buyer's premium and depending on how many individuals or entities are competing at auction for the set. From time to time, you will see hand-signed sets offered for sale at private treaty. Keep in mind that Dali DID NOT hand sign any of the Divine Comedy sets or individual prints as part of the original Les Heures Claire Estrade edition. Hand signatures were arranged for by contract between Dali and a few individuals, but even these were very limited.

The vast majority of the prints and full sets on the market, therefore, are either signed in the block or not signed in the block and none of them (with few exceptions) contain the hand signature of Dali. None of them, with the exception of Park West Gallery prints or those sourced from Park West Gallery bear the blind stamp of Estrade. The Estrade blind stamp IS EXCLUSIVE to Park West Gallery. There is a good reason for this. That's because "provenance" for Park West Gallery was "created" or "manufactured" by Park West Gallery by using this stamp. We have proof that they "made it all up" to increase the "perceived" value of the woodcuts they are selling, applying the stamp themselves, something which is the sole prerogative of the artist and/or publisher.

Generally speaking, genuine Divine Comedy woodcut prints are not at all rare. As stated, they were never issued or produced with the intent of having Dali's hand signature applied. This came later. There are more than a million of these prints in circulation, exclusive of any reproductions or unauthorized editions. Keep in mind that value turns on rarity, the artist's reputation, and condition. With few exceptions, Divine Comedy woodcuts can be purchased all day long on the retail market for anywhere between $100 and $350 each, depending on the edition and the dealer offering them (but usually they are negotiable) We exclude here auction pricing as we attempt to make apple to apple comparison to show the disparity in Park West Gallery retail pricing.

Full sets of the Divine Comedy (that is without Dali's authentic hand signature) can be purchased for between $10,000 and tops $20,000, depending on the dealer (or for an average of $100 to $200 per woodcut). The Divine Comedy sets do fall into the rare or antiquarian book market category. It is important, however, to check with the seller prior to purchase to be sure you know what is or is not contained in the set prior to purchase. This would also require that you know what a proper set should and should not contain.

An example of a beauty of a genuine Divine Comedy woodcut [not signed in the block or plate] currently priced at $150.00 US is being offered by Artfever, a Paris bookseller, on abebooks.com. The listing is as follows:

Artfever -- $150 US

Nice original woodcut for "The Divine Comedy" (INFERNO 22) - SIZE : 10 x 13" (24 x 32cm) - PAPER : BFK RIVES - EDITOR : Les Heures Claires - YEAR : 1960/1964 - REFERENCES : Michler/Lopsinger Reference: 1060 - A copy of the justification page will be included with the woodcut. Bookseller Inventory # 000060

There are at least 30 more of the above Divine Comedy woodcuts offered by this dealer for the same price. None of them is signed in the block. Contrasted with Park West Gallery prices, the offering by Artfever is a bargain, especially since Park West Gallery is selling Dalí prints with forged signatures as in the case of victims Sharon Day and Julian Howard, Mike Vallillo, Cheryl Crist, Debi Austin and Martha Szostak as well as many, many others who purchased so-called signed Dali prints from Park West Gallery.

Another excellent example on offer from the same dealer at abebooks.com, for a price of approximately $350 US, is a woodcut from the Deluxe Edition of the Divine Comedy (from an edition of 150), this one signed in the block. The description is as follows:

Artfever -- $350 US

Salvador Dalí : original drypoint etching - Title : HELL 10 Faritana - Medium : drypoint etching (copper plate) - Signature : plate signed "Dalí" - Size : 10" x 13" - Paper : BFK Rives vellum - Year of issue : 1960-64 - Publisher : Les Heures Claires, Paris - Condition : Very good - References: Authenticated in the A. Field catalog p.189-200 & Michler and Lopsinger Dalí catalog raisonne ref. 1048 - History : only 150 copies (+ 15 separate copies) of this etching was printed and included in the high deluxe copy of the Divine Comedy. Those etchings are only in the French edition of the Divine Comedy (not in the German or Italian one). Those etchings are far more rare than the woodcuts. just see : 165 copies of the etchings / more than 11.000 copies of the woodcuts (french + german + italian edition) !!! - INCLUDED : A copy of the justification page will be included with the etching - ASK FOR EXTRA PICTURES. Bookseller Inventory # 000174

What follows is an excellent example of a current offering of a COMPLETE set of the Divine Comedy offered by a rare book and print dealer, Leonard Fox in New York City, who enjoys an excellent reputation in the fine art print industry and is in his own right an expert in Dalí prints and graphics:

It is important to note that the above referenced set of the Divine Comedy is a complete set with all of the text present and it is also critical to note here that only Enfer, Canto 1 contains a signature in the plate (or in the block as it is commonly referred to). The remaining woodcuts are not signed in the plate. The above set offered by Leonard Fox is an excellent example of "AS ISSUED" by the original publisher Les Heures Claires in the 1960s, NOT to be confused "Lignes et Formes dba Les Hueres Claires" which is operated by Park West Gallery Dali print supplier, Daniel David, who Park West Gallery tries to pawn off as the Director of the "original" Les Heures Claires company. This couldn't be further from the truth. The Les Heures Claires that published the set offered by Leonard Fox in New York went bankrupt in the 1980s. It IS NO LONGER IN EXISTENCE.

Contrast the set being sold by Leonard Fox with the set sold by Park West Gallery to Sharon Day and Julian Howard for nearly a half million dollars - more than 20 times the price asked by Leonard Fox. Consider that Sharon Day and Julian Howard's set bears 100 FORGED Dalí SIGNATURES, as well as an uneven mixture of woodcuts signed in the block (or plate) mixed with those that are not block signed. Many of the woodcuts as well as the slip cases containing the volumes of the woodcuts were damaged and the prints exposed to ultraviolet light which caused discoloration to the paper. Also, completely absent from the Day/Howard set were two of the tirage pages (or the text) in two of the sets. Unlike the Leonard Fox set above, the Day/Howard woodcuts are marked with the Park West Gallery applied "Jean Estrade" blind stamp which is physically applied by Park West Gallery personnel at the Michigan Gallery before the prints are sold, a fact which is omitted and NEVER disclosed to the buyer.

Further Park West Gallery omits and does not disclose that Park West Gallery always had possession of the Jean Estrade blind stamp and in fact had it manufactured for use by Park West. Prospective buyers have a right to know that Park West Gallery manufactured the blind stamp and that Park West Gallery staff is applying it to the prints. Why isn't this disclosure made on Park West Gallery Certificates of Authenticity and appraisals? The answer is obvious. Because they know it will not be accepted by those who know better. As good old Abe Lincoln said: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

The bottom line: The Divine Comedy set sold by Park West Gallery to Sharon Day and Julian Howard is a FORGED, cobbled together, reconstituted mess that is far from being "as issued" and far from being in "pristine condition" and even further from having "impeccable provenance" as Morris Shapiro, the Park West Gallery sales director represented to Day and Howard. The set is rendered rubbish and without any intrinsic value to any collector, except the value it will bring as an exhibit in the annals of Dalí fakes and forgeries.

Also of importance, Bernard Ewell, the appraiser who has been on the Park West Gallery payroll for more than a decade and who is responsible for having authenticated the Day/Howard Divine Comedy set and the bulk of the Park West Gallery Dali inventory that has been sold to unsuspecting victims and continues to be sold, never noted in his so-called "report" provided to Day and Howard in support of the authenticity of the set, the following:

1. The existence or non-existence of the infamous "Jean Estrade blind stamp" (we don't know whether this was the result of Ewell's complete and utter incompetence or whether it was because Park West had not yet added the blind stamp to the prints). Either way, in this respect, Ewell's report is entirely misleading, deceptive, dead wrong, and completely unprofessional.
2. The absence of two of the three tirage pages (or text). How could Ewell have missed something so obvious? Again, he is either utterly incompetent or he does not know his subject matter, or both. Or, the more likely reason, Ewell is in it for the money and just could not care less. He signed off on the set to make it appear legitimate - so Park West Gallery could represent to Day and Howard that they had a so-called "expert" review the artwork. Ewell was no doubt used as a mechanism to give the artwork the air of legitimacy. This is something that is often done in the art fraud and art crime arena. The shame is on Bob Goldman for missing this point completely in his "rigorous due diligence investigation" of Park West Gallery.
3. The absence of any mention of the obvious damage we discovered in our inspection of the woodcuts. What kind of an appraiser doesn't mention damage, especially when "condition" is one of the keys to valuing works of art? Ewell completely missed the mark on the enormous amount of damage to the entire set as well as other anomalies. You would have to literally be blind, stupid, incompetent or in the pockets of Park West Gallery not to have spotted any of these things which are never once mentioned in his report. What we and other world experts found when we examined the set included some of the following: forged signatures, prints signed in the block mixed with those not signed in the block, prints altered from their original condition, excessive foxing (discoloration of the paper with brown spots), exposure to ultraviolet light, visual distortions, and many, many other specifics that Ewell failed to reference. All of this led to the incontrovertible conclusion that prints within the set could not have come from a single source and were not consistent with a set being stored in one location for decades as represented by Park West Gallery to Sharon Day and Julian Howard.

All of the Ewell reports or so-called "opinions" that were prepared for Park West and/or suppliers of Park West (for prints to be sold by Park West) are an embarrassment to the appraisal industry and it is exactly reports like his that give the appraisal industry a bad name and allow for the diminution in values of Dalí prints on the market today. Fine Art Registry plans to write a complete article in the near future on the Ewell report as it relates to the Sharon Day and Julian Howard set of the Divine Comedy as well as many others he has written. We will illustrate in detail just how puny and unprofessional Ewell's reports really are in comparison with other appraisal industry professionals. Much like the Park West Gallery Certificate of Authenticity and Appraisal, Ewell's reports are "boilerplate" language and are nothing more than photocopies on cheap paper with no substance whatsoever.

The fact is Ewell and Park West Gallery never thought they would be caught. Ewell simply signed off for his master Park West Gallery, who paid him handsomely on a substantial retainer for more than a decade to authenticate these prints and he simply collected a check or as Ewell tells it, Park West Gallery simply deposited money into his money market account annually. He made his fortune too on the backs of unsuspecting victims. Ewell like Park West Gallery and its CEO have lived the high life while many victims are suffering today wondering what in the world they will do with all the worthless artwork they hold - which can't be sold for even a fraction of what they paid for it - if it can be sold at all.

Coming Soon. Litigation Update No. 9.

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— by Fine Art Registry®  |  January 16, 2010

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