Hot Off the Press: Breaking Art News - Archives 2008
The Essential's Guide to 2009, in the January issue of Southwest Art Magazine features Fine Art Registry® in an article entitled
Proof of Purchase.
Media Coverage, December 16, 2008
The October 2008 issue of Art Calendar Magazine carries a three-page spread written by Fine Art Registry® Founder and CEO, Teri Franks, entitled
Creating Permanent Records of Your Work, Take Control of Your Legacy. The article covers a five-step process all artists should take to record their works to protect their legacy for the future.
Media Coverage, October 1, 2008
Artnet® Magazine features Fine Art Registry® in an article entitled
The Fate of the $5 Dollar Pollock, by Thomas Hoving, reproduced here in its entirety, courtesy Editor, ArtNet.com.
Media Coverage, November 7, 2008
On October 22nd, 2008, the World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center ruled in favor of Fine Art Registry and against Park West and its hired PR practitioners in an important case of domain name misappropriation where Park West Gallery consultants had set up a website "aboutfineartregistry.com" for the purpose of slandering Fine Art Registry and advancing their own commercial ends, as detailed in the Administrative Panel Decision, Fine Art Registry versus Cartoon Heaven (Cartoon Heaven being the cover under which the website was set up and operated).
Press Room, October 27, 2008
Park West Gallery initiated a smear campaign against Fine Art Registry® to try to silence or discredit FAR® who was publishing a bit too much of the truth about Park West's operations to suit them. Now they have been, as Hamlet put it, "hoist with their own petard".
Article, October 27, 2008
Park West Gallery sells Brian Falk a fake Dali print and then puts the Falks through an absolute nightmare, dragged out over several years when they try to get help from customer services and senior Park West Gallery executives to right the matter. Lies, false assurances, price gouging, knowingly selling fakes and not putting it right even when clearly pointed out characterize this case study.
Case Study, October 24, 2008
Fine Art Registry® Wins Arbitration Over Defamatory and Slanderous Statements as well as Trademark Infringement made by Individuals Linked to Park West Gallery and Hired to Hijack Fine Art Registry Domain Name and Federally Registered Trademarks.
Legal, October 23, 2008
The oldest, largest and most widely hailed auction houses in the world, Sotheby's and Christie's agree that the only definitive universal experts on the original works of Salvador Dali are Robert and Nicolas Descharnes of Paris, France. In an e-mail (courtesy copy provided to FAR® by the Salvador Dali Gallery to whom the email was directed), Mr. Jay Vincze, Director of Impressionist and Modern Art for Christie's confirmed that Robert and Nicolas Descharnes are the only experts in the world for the authentication of Salvador Dali original works of art used by that auction house.
Article, October 21, 2008
Authentication - What it is and Who Does it. It may be too obvious but it's worth stating: a genuine painting by Picasso, by Jackson Pollock, by Rembrandt, by any famous artist, can fetch tens or hundreds of thousands or even many millions of dollars; a fake or a forgery, which can often look very much like the real thing, is usually worth nothing or very little. With so much money at stake, it is essential to be able to tell what is real and genuine, and what is a fake or a forgery.
Article, October 21, 2008
Richard and Tracey English tell how they were sold fraudulently overpriced art by Park West at Sea aboard the Carnival cruise ship Miracle. This is another in the series of case studies of report.
Case Study, October 18, 2008
The November 2008 issue of
The Artist's Magazine carries a two-page spread about the Fine Art Registry® led investigation into the authenticity and value of two Dali prints sold by Park West at Sea for thousands and tens of thousands of dollars. The investigation into the Salvador Dali prints took Fine Art Registry to New York and the Salvador Dali Archives, Ltd. Director, Frank Hunter, to Stuttgart Germany and the Chief Detective of a German Art Crime squad, Ernst Schöller, and to Paris and the world authorities on Salvador Dali, Robert and Nicolas Descharnes. The experts found the Park West Dali prints to be fakes and worth under $100 each. A video of the investigation can be
seen here and a DVD with full video and additional information is
available here. The article was commissioned by
The Artist's Magazine and written by Fine Art Registry Director of Publications, David Phillips. Further articles on the subject can be
read here. The article is published here in full with permission of
The Artist's Magazine.
Media Coverage, October 10, 2008
Fine Art Registry® is pleased to announce to its members and readership the filing of a class action lawsuit in Washington State against
Park West Gallery,
Fine Art Sales, Inc.,
GE Capital Corporation, and
Holland America Line, Inc. It's good to see that Holland America has been named as a Defendant and is being brought to task as it is the cruise lines that are ultimately responsible for allowing the abuse to continue everyday of the week aboard its ships.
News, September 23, 2008
The following description of the various ways that cruise ship art auctioneers and associates trick the auction attendees and clients and rip them off for their own profit and the profit of the art gallery they work for, was sent to us by an auctioneer who has worked for three years with Park West at Sea. The auctioneer read other material on our website and wanted to contribute information. For fear of retribution, the auctioneer has asked to remain anonymous. We felt the cruise going public should be aware of this information so that they can avoid being scammed and ripped off at cruise line art auctions - Editor.
Article, August 31, 2008
Global Fine Art Registry, LLC, announces the release of a 48-minute documentary video about Salvador Dali fakes. The video includes interviews with a leading German art crime detective, Ernst Schöller, world renowned experts on Dali original works, Robert and Nicolas Descharnes, and international Dali graphics authority, Frank Hunter, Director of the Salvador Dali Archives, Ltd. They examine two prints sold by Park West Gallery for thousands and tens of thousands of dollars at cruise ship art auctions, and determine that they are fakes.
Press Room, August 28, 2008
Fine Art Registry congratulates Julio Aguilar, writer for
El Universal magazine for publishing his article titled,
Defraudan a turistas con venta de 'arte': Park West Gallery obtiene jugosas ganancias con obras falsas o sobrevaluadas. The title in English roughly translates to:
They defraud to tourists with sale of art
Park West Gallery obtains substantial gains with false installations and overvalued.
Media Coverage, August 8, 2008
Daily Business Review article posted on
Law.com features Fine Art Registry® in an article entitled
Cruise Passengers Claim Gallery Short-Changed Them During Voyage.
Media Coverage, July 28, 2008
MS NBC article features Fine Art Registry® art auction story from
The New York Times in an article entitled
The worst place on a cruise ship - Avoid buyer's remorse: Beware deceptive practices at the art auction. Thank you, MSNBC and Anita Dunham-Potter for raising public awareness about this serious public policy concern.
Media Coverage, July 21, 2008
The Arts section of
The New York Times features Fine Art Registry® in an article entitled
Art Auctions on Cruise Ships Lead to Anger, Accusations and Lawsuits published on July 16, 2008.
Media Coverage, July 16, 2008
Where do the Dali prints sold by Park West come from? The first step in examining this subject is to have a look at what Park West themselves say about the origins of the Dali prints they sell.
Article, June 23, 2008
The June 2008 issue of
ARTnews Magazine carries an intriguing subject on the cover. It's a story entitled
The Blue Print and the excellent two-page article inside is about the recent investigation conducted by fingerprint forgery expert Pat Wertheim on behalf of Fine Art Registry into fingerprints used by Peter Paul Biro to "authenticate" a painting belonging to the Parker family of Long Island as being a genuine Jackson Pollock.
Media Coverage, June 1, 2008
Fine Art Registry speaks out against abuses by cruise line art auction operator Park West Gallery to Orlando's Local6 Problem Solvers in their investigatory report.
Media Coverage, May 8, 2008
Masterpiece Artist Canvas, who have for some time been shipping their top-of-the-line Elite Canvases with Fine Art Registry tags already attached, is sponsoring Theresa Franks, Founder and CEO of Phoenix-based web company, Fine Art Registry, to deliver a workshop at the 2008 NAMTA (International Art Materials Trade Association) annual convention on April 30th, prior to the opening of the trade show itself which runs from May 1st to May 3rd.
Press Room, April 27, 2008
Park West Galleries, a Michigan based company best known for selling art on board cruise ships, has filed a series of lawsuits against the consumer advocacy group which spoke out regarding reports of inflated prices, misrepresentations and deceptive trade practices on CBS's
Inside Edition in February of this year. In retaliation for Fine Art Registry exposing Park West's activities on that program and on the Fine Art Registry website, and for assisting Park West customers who approached Fine Art Registry, with education about works of art they bought at the cruise ship auctions, Park West recently filed suits against the company and some of its personnel, claiming libel and defamation. The suits are an attempt to stop the flow of information about Park West and to stem the tide of refund requests which have multiplied since the airing of the
Inside Edition exposé and Fine Art Registry advocacy.
Press Room, April 23, 2008
Commissioned by Global Fine Art Registry, LLC., world renowned fingerprint forgery and fabrication detection specialist, Pat Wertheim, examined fingerprints found on an alleged Jackson Pollock painting which had been "authenticated” by self-styled art forensic specialist, Peter Paul Biro of Montreal, Canada (the same expert who was featured in the movie Who the %$#@ is Jackson Pollock? as having "authenticated" the painting Teri's Find as a Pollock). The investigation is now complete. In what is only the second ever known case of fingerprint forgery in the history of the science, Pat Wertheim found that the fingerprints on the alleged Pollock were forged, planted there by an inked rubber stamp made from a cast of a fingerprint on a paint can at the Pollock-Krasner House.
Press Room, April 5, 2008
US and Spanish law enforcement officials today announced federal charges against seven defendants as a result of an international investigation into production and sale of fake limited edition prints of renowned artists.
Download the PDF version here.
Art News, March 19, 2008
While collectors and museums can match any object tagging technology with any of the available on-line registries, a novel approach is offered by the Fine Art Registry (FAR www.fineartregistry.com). Founded in 2000, the Fine Art Registry offers both a patented system of tagging, and a central, secure database of art, collectible, jewelry, gemstones and other valuables. It was established to provide an affordable version of these services for artists, collectors, museums, galleries and others, and can be accessed for free by those doing due diligence, looking to see if an item is stolen, and so on.
Media Coverage, March 3, 2008
Fine Art Registry® is working with Arizona attorney and legal consultant, Gail Christensen to record a series of lectures on a variety of topics about art and the law. These lectures are available from CLE123 Inc. for CLE credit in New York, California and Arizona as well as being for sale as stand-alone lectures without CLE credit, both downloadable and on CD from Fine Art Registry.
Press Room, March 1, 2008
On 11 Feb 08, CBS's
Inside Edition aired the results of an investigation into cruise line art auctions which it had been conducting for quite some time. The Inside Edition investigative reporters had been on the cruise ships attending auctions held by Park West at Sea, a division of Park West Gallery of Southfield, Michigan, and had interviewed a number of people who had bought art at cruise line auctions on the understanding that it was a bargain and an investment, only to come home and find that they had been grossly overcharged and that the same pieces were available on land for a third or less of the price they had paid.
Press Room, February 12, 2008
The following material has come to us from a variety of sources. They all are or were in a position to be able to provide accurate data. Of course we have been unable to verify any of the information directly.
Article, January 22, 2008
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