Displaying items by tag: certificates of authenticity

Contemporary artist Damien Hirst is blocking the sale of an early spot painting that he executed directly on the wall of a London house in 1988. The painting was a birthday present for the home’s former owner, Jamie Ritblat, now a successful property mogul, from his parents Sir John and Lady Ritblat, both well-known art collectors and Hirst enthusiasts. “Bombay Mix” remained in the house when the current owners, Jess Simpson and her husband Roger, purchased it in 2005. Two years later, Simpson removed the painting, mounted it on an aluminum backing board, and had it framed in hopes of selling it.

Since Hirst’s company Science Ltd. still holds the painting’s original certificate of authenticity, it is claiming ownership of the work and prohibiting Simpson from selling the piece.

Following a two-year investigation conducted by the Italian art forgery unit, Christian Parisot, president of Rome’s Modigliani Institute, has been arrested. Police seized 18 works from Parisot including prints, bronzes, and a painting attributed to the Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920); the counterfeit works are said to be worth almost $8.7 million. The unit also apprehended forged certificates of authenticity from Parisot.

Parisot has worked with the Modigliani family for years and even served as secretary to Jeanne Modigliani, the artist’s daughter. Laura Nechtschein Modigliani, Jeanne’s daughter and the only living descendant of the artist, currently holds the rights over her grandfather’s works.

Modigliani’s oeuvre has proved problematic through the years; due to his consistent and distinctive style, Modigliani’s works are often subject to forgery. There are at least five catalogue raisonnés of the artist’s work and Parisot was in the process of compiling his own prior to his arrest.