If you have been following the saga of "Teri's Find," a painting claimed by Montreal art restorer Paul Biro, and its owner Teri Horton, to be a Jackson Pollock; of fingerprint expert and Police Chief Thomas Hanley's independent examination and findings that the fingerprints published on the web by Biro as evidence that the painting was an authentic Jackson Pollock were useless for identification purposes; and of the refusal of Paul Biro and Teri Horton to make the original painting/fingerprint evidence available for Chief Hanley to crosscheck, you may have decided that that was the end of the story. Stymied, you might think. Not so.
Another tale involving Paul Biro "authenticating" a possible Jackson Pollock (a different one), the same fingerprint, the same Tod Volpe in the background with schemes to separate the unwary from their hard-earned money, has surfaced – with a big difference. This one involves a family, the Parkers (who own this other painting), who do not need to make money on the deal, who are only interested in getting to the truth of the matter, and who were willing for Thomas Hanley to have access to their painting with the fingerprint Biro had confirmed as being that of Jackson Pollock. The Parkers welcomed the independent investigation and any light that could be shed on the real state of affairs.
At the same time, Helen Harrison, Director of the Pollock Krasner House, confirmed that Tom Hanley (or any other serious researcher) would be welcome to come to the Pollock Krasner House and do any needed forensic research such as gathering fingerprints and so on, as long as nothing was destroyed or removed. "We are here for research," said Helen. "Of course Chief Hanley is welcome to come and take photos of fingerprints." Paul Biro had given the impression that he was the only person allowed to do such research.
(Note: Thomas Hanley visited the Pollock Krasner House in July 2007, accompanied by Fine Art Registry® CEO, legal correspondent, videographer and photographer to examine fingerprints and take photos of them. The Fine Art Registry photographers working with Tom Hanley have now been able to take very high quality photos with top professional equipment and lights, and Chief Hanley is examining the results and preparing independent reports based on these photos and also photos taken of the Parkers' painting and the fingerprints on that. His preliminary reports have been published on the FAR® website below.)
The story behind the possible Jackson Pollock painting that now belongs to Kenneth and Kathy Parker and Kenneth's brothers and sister is stranger than fiction. Kenneth recalls how it all started. His father and stepmother had won the lottery and his stepmother had gone off with the winnings. Kenneth's father (Kenneth Parker, Sr.) had taken legal action to recover his portion.
"There was a hearing," Kenneth, Jr., a private investigator based in Long Island, recounts. "During one of the court hearings we were having lunch with the family and my father said, 'You know, if I had kept that painting I wouldn't have this mess.' I said, 'What painting?' He said, 'You know, that thing I brought home that day in the truck.' I said, 'I still have that thing. It's in the garage.'"
He was referring to an incident that had occurred as far back as 1973. Kenneth Parker, Sr., was the facilities manager at a New York defense company. "He had been working on some kind of a job and he asked me to help him bring some stuff in from the back of the truck," his son recalls. "There was a beat-up air conditioner, and some paint cans, and in the back of the truck was this painting, about 4' x 8'. When I brought it in from the truck, my mother said, 'Where do you think you're putting that?' My father said, 'I was given this painting by this guy. He's rich. Maybe it's worth something.' My mother said, 'I don't want that in here.' So I took it over to my house and put it in the garage. There the painting sat, and the first time my father brought it up was at this luncheon we had right after the first hearing, about 30 years later."
On learning that his son still had the painting in his possession, Ken's dad said, "Don't ever throw that thing away. About eight years after it was given to me, the guy who I got it from said, 'You remember that painting? My wife thinks it's worth some money.' I had no idea you still had it."
This was around July 2003.
Tragic events followed. In January 2004, two weeks after the settlement of the lottery case in which he was awarded his portion, Kenneth Parker, Sr. died of lung cancer, and was buried a year to the day after the lottery win. The painting was forgotten until around May of 2004 when Ken's brother saw on TV that a similar one had sold for $14 million and reminded Ken of its existence.
"So we brought the painting in from the garage," Ken recalls, "And my brother told me that the thing he saw on TV was by Jackson Pollock. I had no idea who he was."
Taylor, Fractals, IFAR, Money
Ken's wife, Kathy, got busy online and found some similar paintings by Pollock, and in the process found out about the International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR), and also about R. P. Taylor and his fractal theories of authenticating Pollock paintings.
The first step was to get professional photos taken. "The photographer walked in with no idea as to why we needed him," recalls Ken. "When he saw the painting he said, 'Where did you get this painting? This painting is a Jackson Pollock.' I said, 'Oh, yeah? I'm glad you think so. How do you know?'
"He said, 'Well, I used to date Ruth Kligman, who was Pollock's girlfriend and that's all she ever talked about. I've seen his work. This thing's a Pollock.' So he took the photos."
Ken got in touch with IFAR but decided not to go ahead with their authentication procedure because they weren't ready to accept submissions at the time.
He decided to have the painting looked at by R. P. Taylor, with his fractals approach to authentication. A check for $5,000 went to Taylor, who dragged his heels for two or three months, then had a couple of his students look at it. They decided it wasn't a Pollock, but Ken was not convinced.
"Right after I sent him the $5,000, he took off for a six-week sabbatical or whatever to New Zealand," says Ken. "I discounted his study because I thought he was just a scam artist who had hit me up for $5,000." This was to become a familiar story in connection with trying to get this painting authenticated.
Peter Paul Biro and "Forensics"
"My trusty assistant here, Kathy, got online again and found Paul Biro, who does art related fingerprint analysis up in Montreal. We emailed him, 'We've heard about your work, we have a painting that you might be interested in, would you consider taking a look at it?' He said, 'Sure, bring it up.' So we put the thing in the back of the Navigator and drove it up to Montreal to Paul Biro."
Biro said he thought it was a very interesting painting. It had been in the garage for 25 years or so and there were a couple of rips in it, in addition to the age and dirt. He said he would look at it and clean it up and examine it. Another $5,000 or so changed hands at this point but it was to be the start of much bigger sums before this saga was over. This was December 2004.
After about three months, Ken got an email from Biro. "You are so lucky, I just found a fingerprint and it matches the one that I found on the blue paint can in the Pollock Krasner Museum," he said, adding, "It turns out it's the same exact fingerprint that I found in Teri Horton's painting."
Ken and Kathy were familiar with that from Kathy's online studies.
"That's terrific. What does that all mean?" asked Ken.
"It means I can place this painting in the Pollock studio and I think it's certainly his style and we have a fingerprint that matches the fingerprint found in his studio so I think this is a Jackson Pollock," said Biro.
This was cause for rejoicing in the Parker family.
"What's next?" asked Ken.
Biro said the painting was in pretty bad shape so it had to be restored. He told Ken his family was in the art restoration business. Kathy went online and verified that Biro's father had been Curator in the Budapest Art Museum or something of the sort. They told Biro to go ahead with the restoration, and another chunk of money went down the wire, possibly $11,000 Ken recalls.
Because the Teri Horton painting seemed to have a parallel story — in fact, according to Biro it was the exact same fingerprint in both paintings that proved their authenticity — the Parkers were interested in what was happening with her and her "find." They got in touch with Teri and a cordial relationship developed.
Time went on and no report seemed to be forthcoming from Biro, despite requests from Ken. "He told me he had the flu and had to go to England and he needed some more money to continue the restoration," said Ken. More money was wired.
The Parkers flew Teri Horton to New York and spent some time with her. They found out her painting was with a NYC dealer and also that a documentary was being produced by Harry Moses, formerly of 60 Minutes, on the subject.
After her visit, Ken called Paul Biro, asked what was going on with the painting and wondered whether or not they should also be working with a dealer. Paul Biro said he was still working on the authentication but yes, "You probably are going to need a dealer once I get done with my report. There's a guy by the name of Tod Volpe...."
Tod Volpe Offers a Helping Hand
Enter Tod Volpe (see the article Art Dealers: Honest or Crooked?) They met at the Pierre Hotel in a suite that Ken and Kathy were staying in while catching a show in New York City. "He asked us to tell him the whole story about the painting," says Ken. "I gave him the whole story including the story of my father with the lotto. So right away — you can read his mind — he's seeing dollar signs."
Volpe said, "Well, I'd like to represent you people. This painting is probably worth in the area of $50-100 million."
Volpe said he thought the painting was the sister painting of one called Lucifer out in San Francisco, a known Pollock for which the owner had turned down an offer of $100 million.
"He said, 'You guys are sitting on a goldmine. Right now you have to get hold of Paul Biro and get him moving on the authentication and I'm going to get in touch with my contacts because your painting can be sold with Paul's authentication.'"
The email from Tod Volpe to the Parkers after their first meeting paints the picture:
Ken,
I thorougly [sic] enjoyed meeting you and (K)Cathy.
You're very special people and I know you understand the real reasons we're doing this.
Yes, we will find our just reward but we are also going to change the world in the process.
Truth is very important...when people lie it takes a part of their souls with them.
The Pollock came to us because we are supposed to set the record straight.
I know this has something to do with the healing of your Dad.
Don't worry... we'll do this together.
Looking forward to seeing you in LI, playing some tennis and visiting the PK house.
My LEGENDS guys will be in NY in June... the week of June 1...
You are invited to a celebrity/VIP party at ACA gallery that I'm doing with Montel Williams.
I'll send the invite soon.
In the interim. The COO of LEGENDS Ken Chasser who runs INDUSTRY ENTERTAINMENT in LA will call you to let you know how we would like to proceed.
All is well in our world.
We reap what we sew [sic].
It's nice to know good people who understand the deeper meaning of life.
It's all meant to be.
With Warmest Wishes,
Tod
Ken called Biro to get things moving. Biro said he was going to be gathering paint samples and performing DNA testing so the Parkers wired another very large sum of money to Canada to handle the cost of this.
Master Scheme To Sell Art Forensically "Authenticated" By Biro
It was July or August of 2005 when Tod Volpe told Ken and Kathy he wanted them to meet the Legends Group who were going to be getting into some very big deals purchasing art and were very interested in their painting. He then told them about his scheme to buy the JP Morgan building in Manhattan and set it up as an art museum.
Ken recalls Volpe letting him know that all that was needed from him and his family for this scheme was a cool $5 million for a down payment on the building.
"My brothers and sister and I went through this JP Morgan building," says Ken. "Tod had all these plans, and schemes. I asked him who was involved in this deal. He gave me the name of this guy, Ken Chasser from San Francisco, there was an attorney, I think his name was Harris Tulchin from Los Angeles. I told Volpe to give me a prospectus on the whole thing."
Following are just a few excerpts from the business plan provided by Tod Volpe:
The acquisition of the recently discovered Pollock masterpiece "Untitled 1948" [Teri's find] is essential to the story surrounding the Forensic Art Center at 23 Wall Street.
Given the extensive media coverage and world wide interest in this painting, the story behind it's [sic] discovery and the forensic process used in its' [sic] authentication, there is an unprecedented opportunity to create promotion and marketing spin-offs utilizing this work of art.
Utilizing a work of art that has mass marketing appeal, that is of interest to the public, worldwide (ie the New Line Film and other media situations), the original purchase price will be easily realized over a period of time providing a strong promotional and marketing plan is formed.
As a safeguard, the value of "Untitled 1948" in terms of fine art equity in the current high end market is uncompromised.
Once the forensic process is sealed as a viable means of authenticating works of art, which is currently in process, this painting, together with other forensic pictures that will be optioned by 23 Wall Street will bear considerable profit.
(The plan includes a list of paintings that were being or had been "authenticated" forensically by Biro and would be sold through the new "Forensic Art Center.")
Using the experience of the management team in acquiring art, the unique relationship with Paul Biro and the collaboration with display designers and fabricators, the plan is to develop a unique attraction that will promote and market the controversy surrounding the use of forensic science as an authentication process in the art world.
...
Publishing articles about the ground-breaking scientific discoveries of Paul Biro, and Legends' efforts to communicate these journeys to the world, in magazines such as Wired, Popular Science, etc. and other high tech publications will attract the attention and support of business leaders and cutting-edge companies, such as Bill Gates and Microsoft.
Then there is the sales forecast:
The number of works of art sold annually by the company is difficult to predict accurately due to the unique nature of each artwork authenticated and the newness of this business concept. However, based on research, stringent acceptance process and Paul Biro's experience, it is estimated that that [sic] anywhere from 20 to 30 works of art may be accepted for scientific authentication annually through the company's' [all typographical and grammatical errors are as in the original] activities. This estimate is based on the annual volume of work historically received by Paul Biro and includes the anticipated results of the Company's marketing strategy along with an increase in public awareness and acceptance of the authentication process. Based on past work and experience, out of the total number of works accepted for authentication, approximately 90% of these will be confirmed as non-forgeries (i.e. real paintings, potentially connected to the stated artist). Of this 90%, the scientific experts will be about 50% successful in identifying an artists name and date to associate with the painting, resulting in an authenticated artwork that can be brought to market for sale. Therefore, if there are 20 works of art accepted in year one, it is estimated that 18 would result in non-forgeries. Once the authentication process was complete, an estimated 10 of these works of art may be successfully authenticated, with the artist's name and date identified. These estimated 10 works of art could then be offered for art sale, depending on the nature of the contract with the owner. (Timing of each sale would depend on the length of the research required and may be anywhere from three months to one year).
Here's the kicker! The plan also included spending $3 million of the Parkers' $5 million to buy Teri Horton's painting (thus "proving" that the "authentication" of Paul Biro was valid and accepted).
"When I got the plan, I started doing an investigation into these people," says Ken. "I knew Tod's story. He had been in jail and I had read his book [Framed]. So, lo and behold, I did an investigation on Ken Chasser who is his [Volpe's] big partner from Los Angeles, and it turned out he had done 10 years in prison for drug trafficking."
"And then it would have been, 'Teri Horton's painting has been sold for $3 million, I've got another one I can sell you,'" says Ken. "The way it was explained to me by Biro, once Teri's painting had been sold, my painting was going to follow right away.
"When I got the plan, I started doing an investigation into these people," says Ken. "I knew Tod's story. He had been in jail and I had read his book [Framed]. So, lo and behold, I did an investigation on Ken Chasser who is his [Volpe's] big partner from Los Angeles, and it turned out he had done 10 years in prison for drug trafficking."
It appears that Tod Volpe and Ken Chasser met in prison. Great place for incubating and hatching master plans.
At this point, the alarm signals in the Parkers' minds, already ringing quite loudly, reached deafening pitch. The business plan which Volpe sent Ken is quite clear. It's a scheme to set up a gallery specially to sell paintings which have been "authenticated" by Biro. The impressive location and setting, lending the work a legitimacy, are trademarks of Volpe's modus operandi (see the article Art Dealers: Honest or Crooked?)
Pulling The Painting Back From Biro Just In Time
"Once I found out about Chasser," Ken continues, "I thought, 'This guy Volpe is bad enough but this Chasser guy is really bad.' So I got hold of Paul Biro. Biro told me that Tod and Ken Chasser were coming up to Montreal to examine the painting and they wanted me to be there. I asked him when they were coming up. He said they would be there on Saturday morning. This was on a Wednesday. I called my brother-in-law and said we need to get up to Montreal before Volpe and Chasser come to see this painting. We drove up there very early in the morning and arrived on Friday, the day before Volpe was due to arrive. I told Biro I wanted to see my painting, and what was going on with the restoration. It had been restored and cleaned up. I'm no expert in art restoration but you couldn't see the tear any more, and it was brighter and he showed me the fingerprint that he had found which he'd highlighted with some kind of powder so we could see it."
(Now it is important to note that the fingerprint which Biro initially showed Ken was one which was embedded in the actual paint on the canvas – see below. When Ken got the painting back later, there were some other fingerprints on the stretcher bar on the back which Ken had not seen before. These are very clear fingerprints which look like the ones you get when you go to the police station to get fingerprints taken. They look like they have been made with an inked finger, perfect, no smudges. On the wood as it is now, these fingerprints have been covered with some kind of resin or other clear material like a varnish. But these are not the fingerprints that Biro showed Ken initially and Ken had not seen these before he finally got the painting back from Biro a second time. The significance of this will become apparent. Several experts have now looked at these other fingerprints and the first comment they make is that they look nothing like fingerprints which have been on something for 50 years.)
Ken told Biro that he needed to take the painting back to New York because the administrators of his father's trust had to see it before they could reach a decision about the $5 million. "So Biro very reluctantly allowed my brother and me to put this 4' x 8' painting in the back of the Navigator and we brought it back from Canada to New York and put it into a depository, a very expensive place to store it, because I didn't know what was going on," says Ken.
"Biro followed up with an email saying that nobody had ever removed a painting from him while he was in the process of authentication and he was highly insulted."
Biro followed up with an email saying that nobody had ever removed a painting from him while he was in the process of authentication and he was highly insulted.
"I told him, 'Look, I don't want to burst your bubble — this guy Volpe is bad enough, but this partner of his, Ken Chasser, they apparently met in prison because the guy was doing 10 years for drug trafficking and I'm not getting involved with any crew like this."
Biro was apparently floored. He wanted to know how Ken got this information about Chasser, saying he had an excellent reputation in California. "I told him I'm in this business, and when I investigate somebody I can find something like this out," Ken recalls.
Biro couldn't believe that Volpe had been trying to defraud people (why not? the guy did time for fraud!) and he was highly insulted that Ken took the painting back. Ken said he was sorry but he was not going to release the painting while Biro was working with Volpe and Chasser.
About eight weeks later Biro emailed Ken to say that he had disassociated himself from Tod Volpe, thanked him for enlightening him about Chasser and stated that he didn't want these people to bring down his reputation but would like to continue work on the painting. Ken told him he could bring the painting back up so that he could continue, but wanted to know when it was going to be completed. He still had no report from Biro despite tens of thousands of dollars having been wired up to Biro's bank account (probably totaling some $25,000 to date). "Biro told me to bring it up." Ken recalls, "He was going to have paint samples examined and DNA testing done but he didn't want any more money because he felt that if the Parkers gave him money it might taint his reputation — he wanted to maintain his independence."
Ken brought the painting back up and said it was fine about the money.
Lots Of Money, But For What?
"Then he sent me an email saying that he wanted some money to develop some kind of imaging platform to assist him with the identification of fingerprints, about $6,000," Ken recalls. That was paid. "Then he told me he needed some money for pigment analysis so I sent him a couple of thousand dollars more. Then he told me he found some hairs embedded in the paint and he needed some additional funds for DNA analysis."
Ken continues, "I said, 'Paul, when am I going to get the paint analysis report?' He said, 'I'm dealing with this guy Nicholas Eastaugh from London, I'm going over to London and we're going over to see someone from the Royal Microscopical Society on the fingerprints and I'm getting my DNA expert up here in Toronto....' He gave me a long line of nonsense. Against my better judgment I sent him another check for about $15,000 for DNA analysis because he told me it was very expensive. He went over to London. I got this email from him saying that he was in London with his wife — of course on my $15,000 — and they had started the DNA analysis and would get back to me shortly."
"Time went on. We never got the DNA analysis," says Ken.
Ken told Paul that he needed a report. The family was getting annoyed. All that had been received so far in terms of authentication was one email about the fingerprint he had found.
"So he sent us an 'authentication report,' which I have," says Ken. "It's like a high school paper... my kid's written better papers. To this date, this is the only thing I've received from him."
Ken pointed out that the report was much less than Biro had done for Teri Horton, and that much of it was verbiage copied directly from the "Teri's Find" report. He wanted to know when he would get a report on the paint analysis, the fingerprint analysis, and the DNA analysis.
At that point, when Ken insisted on receiving reports, Biro told him that the DNA may have been tainted and he wanted more money to conduct further DNA tests.
"I went back up there and took the painting back from him," says Ken. "I'd had enough of sending him money. It's been somewhere between $35,000 and $50,000."
Exit Biro, Enter Mark Borghi
"I told him, 'Unfortunately, I don't have the funds to give to you for further work,'" says Ken, who hasn't had anything else to do with Paul Biro since then, January 2006.
Ken then read about the Alex Matter paintings (32 Pollock-style paintings found in storage by the son of photographer Herbert Matter, a close friend of Pollock's). He called Mark Borghi, Alex Matter's art dealer, and told him he had a painting he might be interested in. Borghi said he would take a look at it. "So we took it out of the depository and put it in the back of the Navigator again and brought it into Manhattan," says Ken. "Borghi looked at it and was very intrigued and asked if he could keep the painting and get it checked out."
Borghi asked Ken if he could get any further information from the previous owners of the painting. It turns out they are a Mr. and Mrs. Grossman. Mr. Grossman had been president of the defense company where Kenneth Parker, Sr. had worked.
Provenance Of a Sort
Ken tracked Norman Grossman down and arranged to see him, and got the background story — or most of it.
Apparently back in the 1970s, Mrs. Grossman had seen some paintings, including this one, in a studio in New York and wanted this one brought to their apartment. Ken takes up the story: "The guy brought the painting over to Norman Grossman's apartment and the thing wouldn't fit into the elevator. He had to carry it up eighteen flights of stairs to Norman Grossman's apartment. He showed it to Mrs. Grossman and she decided she didn't like the color or something. He didn't want to have to bring the thing down the eighteen flights of stairs, so asked if he could leave it there and come back with a friend to help him. The Grossmans agreed. They never saw the man again. I believe the story was that the guy never came back, and Mrs. Grossman went back to his studio to ask him when he was going to get it out of there and the studio was closed and she was unable to contact him again."
Years later, when Norman Grossman was moving from his apartment in the city to a summer house and Ken's father went over there with his work crew, Mr. Grossman said, "Can somebody please get this thing out of here?"
And that's how it arrived in the Parker family.
When Ken got back in touch with Mr. Grossman, he said, "You know it's funny, I was just speaking with someone about that painting. Do you still have it?" Ken said he did. "Well, that's a very valuable painting."
Ken went to see them. When they met, Mrs. Grossman said the painting was not a Pollock.
The Parkers contacted Fine Art Registry® and fingerprint expert Police Chief Tom Hanley through the FAR® website. The next step was for Chief Hanley to have a look at the fingerprints, to compare them to the Pollock fingerprints in the Pollock Krasner House and provide an independent report based on his examination and peer review. Ken has also retained another fingerprint expert, Larry Rooney, a retired Suffolk County New York Detective Sergeant who spent 27 of his 34 years with the force as Detective and Detective Sergeant in the ID section, to check into Biro's work. While Larry Rooney and Tom Hanley go over the facts and Fine Art Registry continues to publish the findings, the Parkers have hung the painting on the wall in their house in Vermont where Kathy says it looks very good.
Ken is understandably suspicious of Paul Biro. "He got highly insulted that we took the painting back from him and no one has ever impugned his reputation before and he said he didn't want any more money and then about a month later, it's, 'How about funding my research to the tune of $5,000 per month for the next year?'" says Ken.
He says, "I have nothing to hide with this thing. If someone can prove that this painting is or is not a Pollock, that's fine. I can just leave the painting on the wall in our house up in Vermont and it will be an interesting conversation piece. In the event that it's a Pollock, I think the world should see something of it. It is a pretty attractive looking painting."
"It's kind of a joke," says Ken. "When they say '50' you'd think they were talking about 50 eggs. It's $50 million! It's a tremendous amount of money these people are talking about. They all use people's greed against them."
Stay tuned also for a documentary currently in production by Fine Art Registry with the working title of Authenticating Jackson Pollock, which will go into details on this and other cases.
The views and opinions of individual authors/contributors expressed on the FAR® web site do not necessarily state or reflect those views and/or opinions of Fine Art Registry® or its agents or subsidiaries.
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