I wrote a piece over at Daily Speculations about a piece of art in my collection that was recently found out to be a fake, despite the fact I had good provenance. The discovery was made while my collection was undergoing an annual review by my insurance company. They brought in experts, and I had two independent evaluations made of the work, all of which were in agreement. They did give the rest of my collection a clean bill of health, but still raised my premium by quite a bit. I accept the raise in premium, as I’ve been on a buying binge the past couple of years. The major gallery I bought it from went out of business some years ago, so I’m shit out of luck. Sometimes, one can get screwed.
Maurice Utrillo was the painter, and here’s a picture of the forgery.
Despite the setback in the art market, I was pleased with the markets in other areas. I’ve been pretty dialed in as of late, and my spreads have been going in my favor.
Jeff
Even though its a forgery its the same painting you appreciated a minute before you heard the result of the evaluation.
Enjoy
Comment by yesbuts — July 17, 2008 @ 8:45 pm
I know I enjoyed it, but the integrity of my entire collection was at stake, so the painting has been destroyed.
Thanks for stopping by.
Jeff
Comment by masteroftheuniverse — July 17, 2008 @ 10:09 pm
When I read about the forgery, I wondered what the course of action would be. Destroying the picture seems a bit harsh to the outside, but the action is relevant to small traders with a handful of stocks - cut the losing position before it infects the portfolio. Insight is everywhere.
A life without occasional swindles, illnesses, misfortunes and the like would be highly abnormal. If we take the necessary precautions then I guess we must take this aspect of life in its stride. And if we don’t take sensible precautions to prevent these downside events, then the question is what can we learn from these experiences?
Comment by Caravaggio — July 18, 2008 @ 3:39 pm
Caravaggio, I destroyed the painting during a fit of anger. After all, I’m only human
The bright side of this discovery is that the rest of my collection, around 60 pieces, passed the sniff test with flying colors. Now, having one piece discovered to be a fake is a small price to have the other 60 pieces guaranteed to be the real deal. As I said before, one must have some trust in somebody, especially a major dealer. Dealers and auction houses are supposed to do their homework to ensure the provenance of what they’re selling. No wonder the dealer I bought this work from is out of business.
I’ve been ripped off a million times in the market, especially in petty swindles in the wheat pit. I took those losses in stride, and was able to beat those swindlers by exploiting their mistakes. Somehow, getting ripped off by a gallery just botheres me a little. Thankfully, the money involved is small potatoes.
As of late, my entire life has been experiencing a draw down, with losing my wife. I’m facing this life drawdown like I face any market drawdown, and the result is that I’m coping very well. Heck, as strange as it seems, life could be whole lot worse.
Jeff
Comment by masteroftheuniverse — July 18, 2008 @ 9:26 pm
Caravaggio: Destroying the picture seems a bit harsh to the outside, but the action is relevant to small traders with a handful of stocks - cut the losing position before it infects the portfolio.
I’m a little confused. You make it sound like the presence of a forgery can turn nearby paintings from genuine to fake.
Comment by We Are...Penn State email list — July 19, 2008 @ 2:23 am
The presence of a forgery doesn’t turn other pieces to fakes, but still taints the entire collection. There are credibility issues when a known forgery is mixed in with the rest of a collection of originals. Museums regularly destroy paintings which have been determined, beyond the shadow of a doubt, to be forgeries. I destroyed this one in a little fit of anger…..I’m only human, and it really pissed me off, as I shelled out hard earned money for a fake that the gallery provided me with faked provenance. I also felt embarrassed of the whole discovery process, as I’ve been scrupulous in my attempts to buy only quality, original art. I learned several lessons through this ordeal, and that’s the silver lining in the dark cloud.
Jeff
Comment by masteroftheuniverse — July 19, 2008 @ 7:56 pm
Were you able to claim a loss for insurance or can you claim it on your 2008 taxes?
Comment by We Are...Penn State email list — July 23, 2008 @ 2:31 am
My accountant said that I’ll end up taken the loss on the taxes. I wouldn’t even bring up a claim with an insurance company, especially here in Florida…..I’d hate to see my rates double. Speaking of insurance, My hurricane insurance was dropped by State Farm effective Jan 1, 2009. I’ll end up getting my coverage at Citizens. which is the Florida state pool. I guess being a customer of State Farm for 30 years means nothing.
Jeff
Comment by masteroftheuniverse — July 23, 2008 @ 9:35 pm