Georgina Adam reports in the Financial Times on the latest spate of suits involving cruise ship gallery Park West. Adam reports that Park West sells 300,000 works of art each year generating as much as $450m. That’s a huge amount of art. It either explains the number of complaints against the firm–with so many customers there are bound to be some disputes–or mis-representing the value of art is a great business to be in:
Last month six amended complaints were filed in Washington against the gallery; one dissatisfied client claimed in court papers that the gallery was selling “phony and materially overvalued art with worthless appraisals to unsuspecting victims”, citing works by Dalí, Picasso and Rembrandt.
Separately, lawyer Don Payton, who represents other buyers, is preparing to file another complaint against Park West on behalf of 10 plaintiffs in Michigan and thinks there may be more. “I’m getting three or four e-mails or calls about the gallery each week,” he says.
The Art Market: A Record-Breaking Giacometti (Financial Times)
