An Attorney’s Read of the Park West at Sea Auction Invoice

A Legal Commentary on the Park West at Sea Art Auction Invoice

Fine Art Registry Investigates

Purchasers at Park West at Sea cruise ship art auctions receive a number of documents related to their purchases which contain critical terms and conditions that all buyers should understand. Many of these terms should jump out as red flags, cautioning purchasers that what they think they are buying is not really what they are actually buying. According to Park West’s own sales documents, the item which Park West at Sea auction goers are bidding on is not likely the item they are buying. Most art purchased is not on the ship; the item on display is referred to by the Park West invoices as merely an “example” of the kind of work the customer will receive, which will be shipped from a land-based warehouse. Read more

Art Defamation Suit

GET ALONG, LITTLE DOGIES

The Montana Supreme Court Wrangles Down an Art Defamation Suit; Fraudulent Art Owner and his Lawyers Must Pay An Honest Art Authenticator Over $10 Million In Damages

In March 2007, art authenticator Steven Seltzer, the foremost expert on the authentication of his grandfather Olaf C. Seltzer’s work, was vindicated by the Montana Supreme Court. Seltzer issued his honest assessment that a watercolor drawing of two cowboys lassoing a steer on the plains of the American West was not, as claimed by painting owner Steve Morton, the high-priced work of Charles M. Russell, but rather the equally aesthetically pleasing, though considerably less monetarily valuable, work of another western artist, Olaf C. Seltzer. Morton had taken offense, and sued Seltzer for product defamation, claiming his assessment diminished the value of the painting.  Read more

What Exactly Do You Get When You Buy an Artwork?

I Own It

When you walk out of a gallery with a painting, what exactly is it you have purchased? What comprises the “ownership” of anything is a complex, fascinating concept that incorporates elements of law, culture, and philosophy. In this intriguing article, attorney and Fine Art Registry legal analyst Cindy Hill recounts some of the history of different notions of private property ownership, and then explains how those notions apply to the current ownership of artwork.  Read more

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