Victims Named in Abstract Expressionist Art Scam
- November 24, 2013 21:48
Documents filed in federal court have revealed the identities of buyers involved with the Knoedler Gallery art forgery scandal. Prominent collectors, two museums and various dealers are named in a list provided to the court by Knoedler. Several of the potential victims in the case are suing the now-defunct gallery and its former director, Ann Freedman.
The source of the artworks, Long Island-based dealer Glafira Rosales, pleaded guilty in September to money laundering and tax evasion, and to conspirancy to sell the forgeries. Knoedler & Co. and Julian Weissman Fine Art paid about $33.2 million for the fake art and then sold them to clients as works by Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell and others for a total of $80 million.
Rosales faces a total maximum term of imprisonment of 99 years. She also agreed to forfeit $33,200,000, including her home in Sands Point, New York, and to pay restitution in an amount not to exceed $81 million. Her sentencing will follow.
The list of buyers (an asterisk indicates a lawsuit against Knoedler):
Murray and Kay Bring, bought a Diebenkorn, Untitled, 1972, for $94,000 on 9 December 1997. Knoedler paid Rosales $60,000 for the work.
Michel Cohen acquire a Sam Francis, Untitled, 1957. Knoedler bought the work for $5,000 in 1999: “(net to owner reduced form [sic] $95,000 to $5,000) 1999 – Trade + $35,000 to Michel Cohen in settlement/exchange for a return of a work by Richard Diebenkorn.”
*Domenico and Eleanore De Sole, from New York, bought a Rothko, Untitled, 1956, for $8.3m through James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, in December 2004. Knoedler paid Rosales $950,000.
Larry Evans bought a Diebenkorn, Untitled (Ocean Park), 1972, for $82,500 on 9 November 1994. Knoedler paid Rosales $47,500.
Jaime Frankfurt bought a Franz Kline, Untitled, 1956, “for a client” for $3.375m on 10 July 2008. Koedler paid Rosales $1.25m for the work “owned jointly by she [sic] and her brother-in-law, although originally from same collection as the other pictures”.
Ann and Robert Freedman bought a Motherwell, Spanish Elegy, 1953, for $15,000 in August 2000. It went “out on approval” in August 2009 to Jaime Frankfurt “for offer to John D. Howard”. They also bought a Pollock, Untitled, 1949, “directly” for $280,000 in September 2000. The couple also acquired a Rothko, Untitled, 1959. According to the gallery’s list this was “consigned… net to owner $160,000. Purchased 12/1996… for $225,000. Sold 04/1997 to Ann and Robert Freedman (trade)”.
Bea and Phil Gersh, from Beverly Hills, bought a Rothko, Untitled, 1959, for $360,000 in October 1997. Knoedler paid Rosales $150,000.
Richard Gilson bought a Diebenkorn, Untitled, 1972, “for John Hannon” for $148,000 on 17 February 1998. Knoedler paid Rosales $54,000.
*Michael Hilti, from Liechtenstein, bought a Rothko, Untitled, 1956, for $5.5m in November 2002. Knoedler paid Rosales $775,000.
*John D. Howard, from New York, bought a De Kooning, Untitled, around 1956-57, for $3.5m on 19 June 2007. Knoedler paid Rosales $750,000.
Mr and Mrs David Howe, from New York, bought a Motherwell, Spanish Elegy, 1953, for $350,000 in March 2000. Knoedler paid Rosales $90,000.
The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri bought a Franz Kline, Untitled, around 1957, for $475,000 in August 1999. Knoedler paid Rosales $250,000.
Crosby Kemper, Kemper Museum of Art, bought a Diebenkorn, Untitled (Ocean Park), 1972, for $110,000 on 3 July 1997. Knoedler paid Rosales $30,000.
Dr Bernard Kruger, bought a Diebenkorn, Untitled (Ocean Park), 1976, for $95,000 on 1 February 1994. Knoedler paid Rosales $50,000.
*Pierre Lagrange bought a Pollock, Untitled, 1950, for $15.3m in November 2007 through Jamie Frankfurt. Knoedler paid Rosales $950,000.
Jack and Fran Levy, from Palm Beach, bought a Rothko, Untitled, 1959, for $615,000 in October 1999. Knoedler paid Rosales $155,000.
Jack and Fran Levy, from New York, bought two Clyfford Still works, Untitled, 1947, for $600,000 in March 1998 (Knoedler paid Rosales $250,000) and Untitled, 1947, for $500,000 in December 2000 (Knoedler paid Rosales $300,000).
Mr and Mrs Jack Levy, from New York, bought a Franz Kline, Untitled, around 1953, for $560,000 in January 1999. Knoedler paid Rosales $315,000. They also bought a Pollock, Untitled, 1949, for $2m in December 2001. Knoedler paid Rosales $750,000. Three years later, this last work was “purchased back from Mr and Mrs Jack Levy. Then… jointly owned as of 12/2003 by David Mirvish (his share $1,250,000), Knoedler (share is $375,000), Ann Freedman (share is $375,000)”. The asking price was $15m, but the work was listed as “not yet sold” by the gallery.
Manny Silverman Gallery in Los Angeles, bought a Clyfford Still, Untitled, 1947, for $850,000 in June 2000. Knoedler paid Rosales $250,000.
Masterson Gurr Johns Inc in Switzerland, bought a Rothko, Untitled (Orange, Red and Blue), 1959, for $7.2m through the agent Urs Kraft on 30 April 2008. Knoedler paid Rosales $4.6m for the work “owned jointly by she [sic] and her brother-in-law, although originally from same collection as the other pictures”.
Hughes and Sheila Potiker, from La Jolla, California, bought a Franz Kline, Untitled, not dated, for $535,000 in June 1997. Knoedler paid Rosales $300,000.
Michelle Rosenfeld of Michelle Rosenfeld Gallery, in Ramsey, New Jersey, bought a Rothko, Untitled, 1959, for $325,000 in July 1998. Knoedler paid Rosales $155,000.
Mr and Mrs Jon Sandelman, from Boca Raton, bought a Franz Kline, Untitled, 1955, for $900,000 in March 2000. Knoedler paid Rosales $375,000.
Donna Schwartz bought a Warhol, Untitled, 1964, for $30,000 in 1999. Knoedler paid Rosales $20,000.
Elizabeth Schwartz bought a Sam Francis, Untitled, 1957, for $148,500 in 2004. Knoedler paid Rosales $55,000.
Jay Shidler, from Honolulu, bought a Lee Krasner, Untitled, 1949, for $1m in February 2007. Knoedler paid Rosales $80,000.
Jay H. Shidler II, from New York, bought a Motherwell, Spanish Elegy, 1953, for $2.2m in March 2006. Knoedler paid Rosales $475,000.
Gerald Solomon, of Solomon & Company Fine Art, New York, bought a Rothko, Untitled, 1959, for $320,000 in June 1998. Knoedler paid Rosales $170,000.
*Nicholas and Jenny Taubman, from Roanoke, Virginia, bought a Clyfford Still, Untitled, 1949, for $5m in November 2005. Knoedler paid Rosales $600,000.
*Harvey and Frances White, from Cardiff by the Sea, California, bought a Pollock, Untitled, 1949, for $3.1m in April 2000. Knoedler paid Rosales $670,000.
Jack Wright, of Wright Gallery, bought a Sam Francis, Untitled, 1957, for $150,000 in 1999. Knoedler paid Rosales $95,000.
The “Nordrhein-Westfalen Museum” was offered a Barnett Newman, Untitled, 1949, through Oliver Wick, for $18m, but the work was “not yet sold”. Knoedler paid Rosales $1m.