Australia is the scene of an interesting artworld trial. Peter Gant sold Robert Blanche three drawings by Australian artists–one by Robert Dickerson and two by Charles Blackman. When it was suggested that the drawings were fake, Gant paid Blanche back his purchase price plus interest. But the two Octogenarian artists have tried to take a stand against the sale of forged works and are suing Gant for damages:
Yesterday Anthony Schlicht, for Mr Gant, argued his client had no case to answer because Mr Blanche had suffered no loss, and any damage to the artists was ”their own doing”.
”[Mr] Blanche effected his own redress, and that’s where it would have stayed. But the plaintiffs embarked on this public course of litigation which the defendant can’t be found liable for. It’s the publicising by the plaintiffs that would have caused, if anything, their loss.
”This campaign has been brought about by the plaintiffs or their representatives to harass [my client].”
The artists want the contested works destroyed, and are each seeking $25,000 damages. They say the fake works are a blight on their reputations and have caused market uncertainty, affecting the value of their art.
