Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

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

Chasing Chowaiki’s Victims, Chagall Edition

March 15, 2019 by Marion Maneker

Ezra Chowaiki is in jail for defrauding his clients but unwinding the effects of his fraudulent dealing is taking some time. Chowaiki sold a $1.2m Chagall to a client, Rick Silver, who was induced to leave the work with Chowaiki who then not only took out a loan using the painting as partial collateral but also sold the painting to a group of London dealers.

As a new lawsuit filed to get those dealers to return the painting shows, the dealers grew impatient waiting for the painting to be delivered. What they did not know was that Chowaiki had to get the picture out of hock before he could send it to them.

In the end, the dealers got the painting just a few days before Chowaiki declared bankruptcy. Nonetheless, they’ve been reluctant to return the picture either because they sold it on to an unsuspecting buyer or they simply don’t want to lose their shares in the painting.

As a result, they’ve been sued in Manhattan court.

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Artelligence for June 27, 2018Artelligence for June 27, 2018
  • Saatchi Beats Banksy: No RematchSaatchi Beats Banksy: No Rematch
  • Bonhams Asia Week ResultsBonhams Asia Week Results
  • When Thaddaeus Met Jean-MichelWhen Thaddaeus Met Jean-Michel
  • Swann Sells $1m in American ArtSwann Sells $1m in American Art
  • Sotheby’s Hong Kong Golden Week Cycle = 2.66bn HKD ($342m); Equals Spring Cycle, ↓ 10% from 2014Sotheby’s Hong Kong Golden Week Cycle = 2.66bn HKD ($342m); Equals Spring Cycle, ↓ 10% from 2014

Filed Under: Fraud, Theft & Restitution

About Marion Maneker

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

Top Posts

  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • How to Chant Like an Auctioneer
  • Christie's Announces $70m Picasso Self Portrait
  • Phillips Includes $2.5m Norman Rockwell Painting in November Evening Sale
  • David Hockney's $20m Pacific Coast Highway & Santa Monica
  • 14th-Century Painting to Sell at Auction Under Restitution Settlement with German-Jewish Art Historian’s Heir
  • 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