Experts Win in France

The Financial Times has a short post on a lawsuit finally won by an expert and holder of the droit moral on a Metzinger painting which was not to be included in a catalog raisonné.  The owner of the painting sued, and French lower courts had non-experts look at the painting.  According to the FT article it was indeed declared by the court as authentic along with an order to include in the catalog raisonné and to pay fee to the owner. It eventually went to the highest court in France on appeal and the earlier decisions were overturned.

And the public wonders why they cant get fine art authenticated.

The Financial Times reports

An interesting case concerning art expertise has finally concluded in France’s Cour de Cassation, the highest court in the land; it has art specialists breathing a huge sigh of relief.

At issue was a painting by the Cubist painter Jean Metzinger, “Maison Blanche”, which the recognised expert and holder of the droit moral, Bozena Nikiel, had refused to include in her catalogue raisonnée, saying it was a blatant fake. The painting’s owner then brought a lawsuit, demanding €140,000, claiming he couldn’t sell without her inclusion.

The painting was appraised by a court-appointed specialist; he admitted he was not an expert in Metzinger’s work but concluded it was mediocre but genuine. As a result, a lower court found against Nikiel, who was ordered to include the work in her catalogue and pay a fine if she did not do so; on appeal, she was ordered to pay an additional €30,000 to the owner.

Deeply disappointed, Nikiel went to Cassation as a last resort and was finally triumphant when the judges overturned the previous judgments.

This case was in France but comes against a backdrop of increased pressure on specialists in other countries. In the US, where a number of authentication committees (including those for Warhol and Basquiat) have closed because of lawsuits questioning their decisions, a new bill is being drafted by the New York City Bar Association that would give better protection to experts who speak out in the case of doubtful works. Fear of litigation has increasingly prevented them from giving their opinions; if the bill passes this summer, it should make things a little more difficult for those who try to bully them into silence.

Source: The Financial Times