Park West Gallery and the Art of the Con
August 19, 2011 by admin
Filed under Art Crime, FAR Investigates, Fine Art Registry
A Silver Wedding Anniversary Celebration Turns Into the Cruise from Hell
Abe Hershkowitz is a victim of Park West Gallery and he is one of those rare individuals that refuses to sit down and shut up — no matter how much Park West Gallery and its miserable lawyers threatened him. Abe is a colorful character, larger than life, with a great sense of humor and a gracious willingness to help anyone that asks. He was ripped off by Park West Gallery and he wasn’t going to take it. We published Abe’s case study on Fine Art Registry in September and October 2007. Abe stood up for what he believed in and vigorously fought the Park West Gallery beast until Park West cried “Uncle”. Park West Gallery capitulated and agreed to rescind Abe’s contract. He was one of the lucky ones. We could use a lot more like Abe in this world — willing to stand and fight for what is right. What’s more, Abe was not bound by the Park West Gallery gag agreement in the settlement of his claims. He flat out refused to sign the unilateral (completely one-sided) Park West gag agreement that says in essence, if you (our customer) say anything negative about us after we refund you, we will sue you. Abe speaks out to this day, and says exactly what he feels without fear of retaliation by Park West Gallery. He is a mighty advocate and strong support for other victims who find themselves in the same boat (pun intended). And so Abe showed up in Port Huron, Michigan, more than a year ago, in April 2010, to testify on behalf of Fine Art Registry. His testimony is compelling and it was effective… read the entire article at Fine Art Registry entitled, Park West Gallery and the Art of the Con
Park West Gallery, Scaglione and Ira Shore Reunite and Share the Art Auction Rip Off Spotlight
August 16, 2011 by admin
Filed under Art Crime, FAR Investigates
Another Cruise Ship Art Auction Rip Off? Really? So What Else is New?
Fine Art Registry® has been reporting on fraudulent, unfair, and deceptive art auction sales aboard cruise ships for well over four years now and the monkey business continues. You will want to check out this latest article of yet another art auction rip off published in “The Sydney Morning Herald,” an Australian newspaper, as well as an article on the same subject that was published in the Art Market Monitor.
Our readers will recall that in the past we have reported extensively on the long history and the cozy little relationship between Albert Scaglione of Park West Gallery and an individual by the name of Ira Shore (aka Fine Art Management Corporation). More recently, we reported that Ira Shore had taken over the operation of the art peddler known as, British American Auctions. Ira Shore cleverly changed the name from British American Auctions to International Art Galleries LLC., managing to convince two VC [venture capital] firms to invest more than $4.9 million dollars into his “new” operation. Perhaps Ira Shore didn’t think we would notice the name change. But Fine Art Registry was aware from the beginning as we had insiders reporting to us every step of the way.
Read the entire article at Fine Art Registry: Another Cruise Ship Art Auction Rip Off
On August 10, 2011 the Sydney Morning Herald published an article by Tom Kirkpatrick entitled Painting bought at sea proves to be no treasure.
Investigation Reveals Stolen Dali Prints Sold By Park West Gallery are Forged
August 5, 2011 by admin
Filed under FAR Investigates, Fine Art Registry
Insurance Claim Investigation Reveals Stolen Dali Prints Sold By Park West Gallery are FORGED and DEFACED
The following story is a warning to all prospective buyers and holders of Park West Gallery Dali inventory–and especially those Park West Gallery Dali prints that are purportedly signed by Dali and that source from the Albaretto family and other shady European sources from which Park West Gallery acquired its inventory. Recently, a theft of so-called signed Dali prints was reported.
After the insurance company conducted an investigation, it turned out that the Dali prints were found to be “forged” and “defaced.”
The owner of these worthless, defaced forgeries is now left holding the bag like so many other Park West Gallery victims. Many of these victims have insured these bogus pieces and are paying substantial premiums on worthless artwork.
Read the entire article at Fine Art Registry.
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On August 2, 2011 Property Casualty 306 published an article by Tom Kirkpatrick entitled Contents Claims Solved: The Case of the Fake Print.
