Oakland County Circuit Court
entered a default against Fine Art Registry (FAR) and its CEO and owner,
Theresa Franks, defendants in a lawsuit that was filed against them and others
by Park West Gallery.
By virtue of the default, all of Park West’s allegations ranging from
defamation to civil conspiracy have been deemed to be true. Park West, the
plaintiff in the case, is seeking a judgment for tens of million of dollars in
damages. Franks and FAR have filed a motion with the court to set aside the
default and be allowed to present new defenses.
Park West, “the world’s largest art dealer” with a 1,200,000 satisfied and
growing client base is now celebrating its 40th year in business and in a
statement said, “It is unfortunate that as a result of our size we have now
become a target.”
For those new to
art circles the official sounding website has its allure
claiming to somehow register art without ever looking at it perpetuating a
risky illusion of safety and authenticity. Most experienced artists and
collectors are well aware that the way to authenticate and register art,
jewelry, antiques, and collectibles is through major galleries and auction
houses, the artists themselves, the estates of artists, museums and recognized
experts in their fields.
The problem begins when companies, like FAR, approach
well recognized large art dealers, such as Park West, and attempt to
aggrandize themselves with publicity and coerce them into registering its art
at a cost of millions of dollars annually, or risk an unmerciful blogging and
on-line bashing with outright lies and false statements, as well as innuendo
and deception.
FAR claims that its tagging system “helps establish authenticity and
prevent art fraud and theft, and the ability to identify and register their
purchases.” The website further states that “collectors looking for art to buy
for their collections can browse the FAR galleries or find work by specific
artists and buy with the security of knowing that the provenance of the pieces
is established and authentic.” However Detective Don Hrycyk, who heads the
Los Angeles Police Department’s art theft detail, says, “I would never use a
registry in order to prove ownership,” and further when it comes to certifying
authenticity Hrycyk recommends “buying directly from the artist or a
representative of the artist and getting a certificate of authenticity.”
Unless a recognized expert, art dealer or the artist themselves are given
the opportunity to personally view a work of art, there’s no way of knowing
where FAR’s stickers are going to end up, or whether they are affixed to
authentic
works of art or fakes. It is simply not a safe practice. With the
system in place on the FAR website, fakes can abound.
