Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Freedman Sues for Defamation Over Due Diligence Question

September 12, 2013 by Marion Maneker

Ann Freedman

Ann Freedman has filed a defamation suit against old master dealer Marco Grassi who was quoted in New York Magazine doubting whether the former Knoedler dealer had done any due diligence on the works she bought from Glafira Rosales. The suit will necessarily dwell on the definition of proper due diligence in an art transaction. Freedman’s suit claims the dealer received informal authentications. Whether this fits the definition of due diligence will likely become a pivotal fact of the case:

Presenting the case that she did due diligence in researching a collection of works that had never before been seen, Ms. Freedman in the lawsuit lists some 20 experts she says told her they were real, including curators from the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. […]

According to the suit, she showed the paintings to a host of modern-art experts, and hired E.A. Carmean Jr., the former head of 20th-century art at the National Gallery of Art, to undertake a multiyear research project on a deceased art adviser who had purportedly played a role in their original sale.

“I believed, along with many, many other people, they were the real McCoy,” Mr. Carmean said.

The fact that they all turned out to be fake “does affect me,” he said. “I simply won’t offer an opinion as to whether something’s authentic again in the future. That’s done.”

In many cases, the opinions that Ms. Freedman gathered were informal, rather than official authentications. A curator at the National Gallery called two works “beautiful,” and a Guggenheim curator borrowed one for an exhibition, according to the suit.

Gallery President Files Defamation Suit (Wall Street Journal)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Freedman Mounts Her DefenseFreedman Mounts Her Defense
  • John Howard’s Amended Knoedler ComplaintJohn Howard’s Amended Knoedler Complaint
  • Who Will Take Responsibility for Glafira Rosales’s Fakes?Who Will Take Responsibility for Glafira Rosales’s Fakes?
  • Jerry Saltz Doubles Down on Due Diligence DoubtJerry Saltz Doubles Down on Due Diligence Doubt
  • Freedman’s Defamation Suit: The ComplaintFreedman’s Defamation Suit: The Complaint
  • US Attorney Asks for Stay in Knoedler Civil Cases to Aid Further Criminal ProsecutionsUS Attorney Asks for Stay in Knoedler Civil Cases to Aid Further Criminal Prosecutions

Filed Under: Dealers Tagged With: Ann Freedman, Glafira Rosales, Knoedler

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor
 

Loading Comments...