Trial for $8M fake painting purchased by Hilton Head Island resident underway
A lawsuit filed by a fashion executive and Hilton Head Island resident ensnared in an $80 million art scam started trial in New York this week, nearly five years after an $8.3 million painting he bought was revealed to be a fake.
Domenico De Sole filed suit against Knoedler & Company and its former director and president, Ann Freedman, in 2012 after the $8.3 million painting he purchased under the pretenses it was by renowned artist Mark Rothko turned out to be a forgery, according to the New York Times.
De Sole, the chairman of Tom Ford International, and his wife Eleanore proudly hung the painting in their beachfront Sea Pines home where De Sole conducts most of his business from, according to the New York Post.
"I got a fake painting for $8.3 million and I want my money back," De Sole said during his testimony Wednesday, according to Artnet News.
In 2011, the purported Rothko work -- "Untitled, 1956" -- was revealed to be one of dozens of fake paintings created by a Chinese painter in Queens, Pei-Shen Qian, that sold for over $80 million from 1994 to 2009. Press reports on the forged paintings put the number between 30 and 60 works claimed to be by famous artists such as Rothko and Jackson Pollock.
Forensic analysis of the forged painting revealed that a red pigment used wasn't developed until the 1960s, the Times wrote in January 2013.
The forgeries were given to Knoedler by Long Island-based art dealer Glafira Rosales, who claimed the paintings were from the estate of a Swiss businessman, the Post wrote last week.
Knoedler & Company, which was founded in 1846, announced it would fold soon after the fake paintings came to light. The first lawsuit in connection to the fakes was filed in November 2011, the day before the gallery closed its doors.
Rosales pleaded guilty to federal money laundering, wire fraud and tax evasion charges in 2013, but has not been sentenced. Rosales's boyfriend, who steered her toward Qian after meeting the artist selling canvasses on the street in Spain, was arrested in Seville on fraud charges in 2014. Qian fled to China soon after the fraud was discovered, the Post wrote.
The De Soles filed suit against Knoedler & Company, Freedman, and the former art gallery's holding company in U.S. District Court in 2012, alleging the gallery sold the couple the painting knowing it was a fraud, as Rosales had no documentation to verify their authenticity. The couple's lawsuit is the first to reach trial; previous suits were settled privately, according to the Post.
The lawsuit also alleges the defendants in the suit are liable under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which would triple the damages if the suit is ruled in the De Soles' favor. The suit seeks damages of $25 million, according to court records.
The trial began Monday, with attorney Emily Reisbaum telling the 10 jurors in the case that Freedman and the art gallery should have realized the paintings were fake after finding out their vague backstories and paying "bargain basement" prices for them, according to the Times. Defense attorneys have acknowledged the paintings are fake but have denied that Freedman and the art gallery knew they were forgeries, the Times wrote.
De Sole testified on Wednesday and Thursday in the trial, with the painting making an appearance as well, according to press reports. De Sole said he asked the gallery for written evidence of the story behind the painting and never had any reason to not trust Freedman, according to Artnet News.
He later called the painting "worthless" and called the sales of the forged paintings a "conspiracy." The painting was put up on an easel by the couple's attorneys, but was removed when a defense attorney began to cross-examine De Sole, according to Artnet News.
The trial is expected to last four weeks.
Attempts to reach the De Soles and attorney Greg Clarick for comment Friday were unsuccessful.
Follow reporter Matt McNab on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.
This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Trial for $8M fake painting purchased by Hilton Head Island resident underway."