Suspect Whiteleys case echoes earlier instance of art forgeries

PRESSURE is mounting for an investigation to be launched into three suspect paintings which appear to have been passed off as the work of the late and celebrated Australian artist Brett Whiteley. Two were sold for millions of dollars to unwitting buyers.

Despite long-standing suspicions about their authenticity, all three paintings remain in public circulation and have not been investigated by the police. Controversial Melbourne art dealer Peter Gant, who declared himself bankrupt last year, is linked to all three paintings.

One of the suspect paintings, titled Big Blue Lavender Bay, sold to a Sydney investment banker in late 2007 for $2.5 million, has recently become the subject of legal action in the Supreme Court of NSW.

Sydney banker Andrew Pridham is the latest to have questioned the suspect Whiteleys and he is suing the Melbourne art dealer who sold him the painting, Anita Archer, until recently head auctioneer with Deutscher and Hackett.

Ms Archer denies that Big Blue Lavender Bay is a forgery and also denies she verified the provenance, or history of sale, of the painting. In a statement to the court, she denies having an advisory contract with Pridham ''or alternatively, that the terms of the advisory contract are those terms alleged by the plaintiff''.

In his statement of claim, Mr Pridham alleges that Ms Archer acquired the painting from Mr Gant, ''an art dealer whose background, reputation and associations are not such as to allow any reasonable person to rely solely on his assertions''. In response, Ms Archer again denies having the advisory contract or that the contract terms are as alleged.

The NSW court case has the potential to become as important a test case as the legal action launched by the artists Charles Blackman and Robert Dickerson, who pursued Mr Gant in the Victorian Supreme Court for selling three forged artworks - one purportedly by Dickerson, the other two by Blackman.

In a landmark ruling in 2010, the Victorian Supreme Court found Mr Gant in breach of the Fair Trading Act for selling the three drawings and ordered the fakes to be destroyed. The court made no findings as to whether Mr Gant had intentionally sold the fakes, but stated that he had failed to take adequate steps to confirm their authenticity.

The NSW court case will yet again draw attention to the practices of the art market and to the need for accountability and due diligence from art dealers. The case might also expose the chain of production involved with the three suspect Whiteley works, all of which are listed on a consignment note dated June 28, 1988, and addressed to the late Chris Quintas, who was Whiteley's studio assistant.

It is understood that two of the listed paintings - Big Blue Lavender Bay and Orange Lavender Bay - have been examined by the Melbourne art forensic expert Robyn Sloggett and found to be ''problematic''. The third, titled Lavender Bay Through the Window, was given to a Melbourne restaurateur by Mr Gant as security for money owed. When the restaurateur discovered it too could be problematic, he took out a caveat on one of Mr Gant's properties.

The painting remains with Mr Gant's lawyers and the restaurateur's debts have yet to be paid.

Robert Dickerson's stepson Stephen Nall, who has long campaigned for a tougher approach to art fraud, is furious the three suspect Whiteley paintings are still in the public domain. ''I personally think that these three pictures need to be investigated forthwith,'' Mr Nall said.

''There ought to be some government legislation that deals with these types of matter so that the public doesn't lose confidence in the art market.''

Art fraud is one of the easiest crimes to get away with. It is not a crime to sell a forged art work, nor is it a crime to copy an artist's work - unless one does it with the intention to deceive and the intention to profit from the deception. But proving intention is an onerous task under current criminal law. More likely, alleged cases of art fraud will be pursued in the civil justice system.

Yet it takes deep pockets and the risk of losing money pursuing justice, as Blackman and Dickerson found. Mr Gant was ordered to pay their legal costs, but they have yet to receive a cent from him. Mr Gant did not return the Herald's calls.

Calligraphy paintings lead 2011 spring auction

Sky-high price appearing, continual record breaking and frequent emergence of "white gloves"

Since the "RMB-100-million-yuan Era" in 2009, the artwork market has always been "hot" in China. Record breaking and new high seems to be a common occurrence in this market. Even so, people are still quite surprised by the hot market behavior in the just-completed spring auction in 2011.

A lot of sky-high prices and records emerged with the falling of hammer in the spring auction of this year. In the Guardian Spring Auction concluded in the end of May, the total turnover was up to RMB 5.323 billion yuan, refreshing the record of Chinese artwork auction in a single season and also historically creating four world records. EAGLE STANDING ON PINE TREE; FOUR-CHARACTER COUPLET IN SEAL SCRIPT by Qi Baishi created a world auction record for the recent and modern paintings and calligraphy with a price of RMB 425.5 million yuan; Wind, Earth and Wind by Chen Yifei created the world auction record for oil painting with a price of RMB 81.65 million yuan; Yuan Dynasty handwritten copy of Policies of the Eastern and Western Han Dynasties in Twelve Volumes set a world record of Chinese ancient books with a price of RMB 48.3 million yuan; Mirror, Blossom, Water and Moon-Bronze Mirror with Auspicious Beats and Inscriptions was sold at a price of RMB 8.97 million yuan, establishing a world record of bronze mirror.

The turnover created a record high continually, but on the contrary, many auction companies adopts a strategy to reduce the amount in the spring auction market this year. "We adopt a strategy to improve the quality and reduce the amount. The total amount reduces by 1/4 this year compared with one in the last year. I estimated that it would be the best if the turnover reached to RMB 3 to 4 billion yuan," Zhao Xu, executive director of Beijing Poly International Auction Co., Ltd. made such an estimate before the spring auction of this year. And due to the hot market, the final turnover is nearly two times of the estimated one.

Another surprising thing is the frequent emergence of "white gloves" in the spring auction market of this year. Obtaining "white gloves" is the highest honor for an auctioneer, which means a 100 percent transaction rate in an auction.

In the 3-day Hanhai Spring Auction, 100 percent artworks were transacted in four sessions namely Qing Yun Tang - Gold Litters, Collection of Chinese recent and modern paintings and calligraphy, Precious Xu Beihong Oil Paintings collected by Sun Peicang family, Belgian Private Collection of Buddha statues, and Hanhai Night Session for Important Paintings, Calligraphy and Antiques.

Guardian Spring Auction brought up five "white gloves" sessions namely Zhongxing Hut Painting Collection, Autumn Studio's Collection, Charming Landscape: Five Elaborate Paintings by Lu Yanshao from Private Collection in Singapore and Gazing at the Last Century: Painting and Calligraphy by Celebrated Politicians, Scholars and Artists.

Among 49 sessions in Poly Spring Auction, 100 percent artworks were transacted in 13 sessions, including Night Session for Baron Guy Ullens' collection of Chinese Important Contemporary Artworks, Centenary Brilliance - Night Session for Xu Bangda Artworks and Centenary Collection, Night Session for Chinese Modern and Contemporary Artworks - Important Paintings by Wu Guanzhong, Spring Water and Autumn Cloud - Oversea Collection of Jades in Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties and "Vintage Vehicle".