Parajanov.com
POB 17257
Beverly Hills, California 90209 US
[email protected]
[1 1 June 2009]
Artworks claimed to be by Sergei Paradjanov have been withdrawn from the
auction just hours before they were to go on sale. We welcome this decision
and would like to thank Mr. William MacDougall of the MacDougall Arts Ltd
Auction for withdrawing the works from today’s auction of Russian Art.
Following our extensive correspondence with Mr. MacDougall, we received a
letter from him early this morning stating that while they don’t necessarily
accept our view of the works, they err on the side of caution and only
include works in which they are very confident. This is a major step that
will help prevent future sales of unauthenticated art claimed to be by
Sergei Paradjanov.
[02 June 2009]/updated
COLLAGES claimed to be by legendary filmmaker Sergei Paradjanov will again
be on sale in London on June 11, 2009 at MacDougall’s Auction. In 2007,
MacDougall’s Auction sold 3 (of 4) collages claimed to be by Sergei
Parajanov (see our report from March 2, 2008 below). This time MacDougall’s
Auction has 6 collages claimed to be by Sergei Paradjanov: "Lady Serving
Tea", "Aladdin", "Lady with Vase with Flowers", "Lady with a Mirror",
"Princess with Butterflies", and "Princess of Taj Mahal". Well, that’s a
whole lot of "ladies", BUT NO Paradjanov, ladies and gentlemen. MacDougall’s
Auction lists provenance as "Private collection, France".[See our 11 June
2009 update above]
More on the French connection is below and these are the 6 collages in
London claimed to be by Paradjanov, which MacDougall’s Auction is going to
sell on June 11, 2009. If you are in London go to the auction (at 30A
Charles II St., London, telephone +44-20-7389-8160) and write to us about
it. [Updated 11 June 2009 – collages have been withdrawn from the auction;
see our June 11 2009 report above]
Now the French connection. We’ve received a letter from France, whose author
requested to remain annonymous, and we were informed about several fake
collages that were brought from Tbilisi, Georgia, according to the dealer
who was selling the fakes. At least one fake Paradjanov collage called
"Composition 1" was sold at the Aguttes Auction in France for EUR 10, 201 on
March 25, 2009. Aguttes often hold auctions in partnership with Cabinet
d’expertise Dan Coissard. Our letters to Claude Aguttes and Dan Coissard
remain unanswered. Here is the fake collages that was sold:
Two more fake Paradjanov collages have apparently not been sold – "Persian
fantasy I and II".
Here are the authentic Sergei Paradjanov collages at his museum.
Below is our report from March 2, 2008.
[02 March 2008]/updated
Collage claimed to be by Sergei Paradjanov was sold for GBP 89,950 (USD
178,000 / EUR 133,126) in London at the MacDougall Arts Ltd Auctions around
June 15th, 2007.
On February 29, 2008, Noyan Tapan News Agency reported from Moscow that
artist Valery Boyakhchian, who worked for Sergei Paradjanov in 1980s in
Tbilisi, informed Yerkramas Newspaper that he is in fact the author of the
fake collage, which he calls "A Mysterious Supper". Per Noyan Tapan, which
cites Yerkramas Newspaper, Boyakhchian (Boyakjian, Boyakhchian) made the
collage in New York (around 2001) and gave it to an art dealer in exchange
for an airline ticket to Moscow. Presently, it is unclear who the dealer was
and if he knew the work wasn’t by Paradjanov. In any case, very thorough
research should have been made to confirm the provenance.
According to the MacDougall Arts Ltd Auction’s press release of June 15th,
2007, the collage ("Last Supper") was sold for GBP 89,950 (USD 178,000 / EUR
133,126). The provenance is listed as "Glezer collection. Corporate
collection, USA." According to the auction’s website the collage had been
previously exhibited at "C.A.S.E. Museum of Contemporary Russian Art, Jersey
City, USA, 2003 and Bell Harbor, Miami, USA, 2006."
Currently there are also 3 collages listed on the auction’s website:
"Collage with Mona Lisa," (presumably sold November 29 or 30, 2007 for GBP
7,710 (USD 15,898); "Old Friends" (presumably sold November 29 or 30, 2007
for GBP 8,353 (USD 17,223) and "Family Portrait" (presumably not sold). The
provenance of the 1st collage is shown as "A. Gleizer collection. Roman
Tabakman collection, USA" and the provenance of the other 2 collages —
"Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner. Private collection,
USA", but it is not clear who that owner is. Paradjanov experts and closest
friends, the family of Sergei Parajanov, and Paradjanov museum, have all
confirmed these collages are fake. MacDougall’s Auction in London ignored
the letter from the museum and refused to answer any questions or produce
any evidence that the collages were "acquired directly from the artist by
the present owner" etc.
Back in 2003, Parajanov.com reported about a large exhibition of fake
Paradjanov collages on display from December 1, 2002 till March 16, 2003 at
the Rutgers University’s Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum and which came
from the collection of Norton and Nancy Dodge, collectors of Soviet
Nonconformist art. The Zimmerli Museum’s catalogue stated that some collages
in their exhibition were jointly made "by Sergei Paradjanov and Valerii
Boyakjian" and several were "attributed" to Paradjanov. We asked the
Zimmerli Museum to confirm when and where Norton and Nancy Dodge acquired
all the works, but they didn’t provide that information. The "Last Supper"
piece sold in London by MacDougall Arts Ltd auction listed "related
literature" for the "Last Supper" collage as "Collage and Assemblage in the
Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection, USA, 2001".
We believe that there are several persons involved in making forged collages
in United States and overseas, including Russia, Georgia, and Armenia, and
we strongly recommend to do a very extensive research before acquiring any
work said to be by Sergei Paradjanov as there are few works that can become
available and the number of fakes continues to increase.