L.A. art dealer accused of selling a phony Picasso pastel
- January 09, 2010 16:58
Tatiana Khan, owner of the Chateau Allegre gallery in Los Angeles, sold a pastel drawing -- called "La Femme Au Chapeau Bleu" -- which she claimed was a Pablo Picasso owned by the Malcolm Forbes family estate and a bargain at only $2 million, according to court documents. But the buyer became suspicious several years later and contacted a Picasso expert in 2008. Enrique Mallen, director of the On-Line Picasso Project, concluded the work was "not by the hand of Pablo Picasso." The gallery owner allegedly hired an artist to fabricate the artwork.