'Non!' - attributing works the French way
June 7 2013
Picture: TAN
Melanie Girlis in The Art Newspaper reports that a possible Utrillo consigned to Sotheby's has been turned down by the Association Utrillo, which is run by the man who has inherited the right to attribute Utrillos all over the world, Jean Fabris.
Inherited? Indeed, for in France you can only authenticate modern art if you have inherited the droit de moral of an artist. As TAN reports:
The weight of Fabris’s decision is entirely in accordance with French law, under which artists have moral rights that protect the integrity of a work, including when and how it is shown and treated, regardless of its owner. When an artist dies, this right is bequeathed either to an heir or to another designated person, or people. In theory, the right does not extend to authentication, but in practice, the owners of the droit moral also, by default, become artists’ external validators, often compiling their catalogues raisonnés.
Incroyable. Mind you, there's a hefty reward for any geneologists out there who can find a link between me and Van Dyck.
Update - a reader alerts me to M. Fabris' previous form on hunting down what he thinks are fake Utrillos. This comes from an AP news story back in 1989:
Jean Fabris, 58, is waging war against the alleged fakes, accusing art dealers, auctioneers and experts of putting profit before art. Critics of his efforts claim he's the one who is after money.
He disrupted auction sales in April at both Christies and Sotheby's in London, crying ''Fake, fake.'' He was removed from the auction houses, and the sales of the 17 contested Utrillos went ahead. His campaign scored a tentative victory in Paris when he persuaded a criminal court judge to confiscate seven alleged Utrillo paintings valued at more than $1 million from well-known Paris auctioneer Guy Loudmer.
Verification of the disputed paintings will be handled by a court-appointed panel of experts. A final decision is not expected until early summer.
Fabris has also challenged the New York market. He has written to Sotheby's and Christie's threatening court action if they do not withdraw nine Utrillos to be sold by Sotheby's on May 10 and six more by Christie's on May 11.
''We're not surprised to learn that he is once again attempting to promote unfounded allegations in the press,'' said Diana Levitt, a vice president and director of corporate affairs for Sotheby's in New York.
''As we previously stated, and as the courts in France have also found, Mr. Fabris is not a recognized expert in Utrillo's works. We have notified him that we stand by our authentication of the works in our sale and that we intend to offer them for sale on the date scheduled and that if he interferes in our sale, we will take whatever action we think approbriate to protect Sotheby's and our consignors' rights.''
The seven Utrillos in the April 4 London sale fetched over 1 million pounds ($1.68 million).
Update II - an auctioneer with direct experience of this kind of thing writes:
These self-acclaimed experts are quite a nuisance, since they can't just be ignored, how preposterous their claims might be. Insecure potential clients seek their advice or request their approval, and as an auctioneer to say 'Don't listen to him, he's a nutter" doesn't really come through as a nuanced advise…
