A New Question On Fake Dali - West Park

I went back to look at the piece, and it turns out West Park did not sell it, they authenticated it. Which for me is kind of useless.

The signature certainly could be Dali's. It looks like most real and fake signatures.

The part I found interesting is, doing a little research on the piece, it turns out that the edition size is correct. There was supposedly only one edition of 300 prints, and the edition size for this print is 300.

It's all subjective. But, is there anything else I can try to look for to see if this is worth buying? I like the print regardless. But, they're charging more for the signature than the print.

 

Run.

Debora

 

G'bye print. If it's fake they need to take a lit match to it.

 

can u find what others in the edition sold or are selling for?

 

The signature could be the only authentic bit. Dali signed lots of blank sheets.

 

This copy is cheap. It's $300 in a very nice frame. I like the print. But, I can buy a poster sized copy for $30. I've found one that sold a few years ago, and it sold for $3000 from an art dealer. They'd obviously be more knowledgable, but honesty can fly out the window when you're looking at making a few grand.

From my other post on fakes, West Park seems to have an iffy reputation when it comes to Dali. They only authenticated this, they didn't sell it. The person selling it, supposedly has quite a few prints from different artists. He has authenticity letters attached to each with the "value" of each, yet he's selling them for $300 instead of $3000. Which for me is the biggest red flag. If it's worth $5000 (that's what the authentication says) why are you giving it away for $300?

I'd like it, because I like the art. I just don't want to pay $300 for a poster worth $30 with a fake autograph on it.

On the other hand, it could be a real print with Dali's signature, because the edition size matches. It's honestly a crap shoot. The difference being, if I buy it, I'm buying it because I like and will keep the art. Most people look at a bargain like this as a fast way to make some cash. You should never do that with art, you'll almost always get burned.

 

That would be cool. But, a question, why wouldn't the art be real?

That's something I've never understood about prints. I fully understand that there are editions. So, this was an edition of 300. Someone would have had to have known that. Took a Dali signed piece of paper, and then printed the art on that paper. I can't say I'd know the difference unless the print was crap.

I've seen numerous Divine Comedy prints in antique stores. I own an entire set. Even though all these prints were probably created from the same blocks, mine have always looked nicer. I have a presumed "German" edition. All the prints, matted, no text. The only thing stopping it from being actually named a German edition is, it came in 3 leather bound cases, and the writing on the outside is in Italian. Magnificent set. I've had it three years, and I can only hang one at a time. I'm not even done with Inferno. I'm up to #32.

 

West Park isn't just "iffy"... They've been sued. They misrepresent things wildly. I would never, never buy anything they've "authenticated" because that's worthless.

Dali signed blank paper but the Art World doesn't consider those prints worth as much because the print was made after his passing as a cash grab. Prints he (or any artist) actually saw and approved are the ones worth something. Prints he wasn't alive for are considered reproduction. West Park stuff is even more worthless because they reproduce at a huge scale. They can say "edition of 300" but it would be meaningless because it's not really a closed edition. There are more than that. They've been doing this for decades.

All that said, if it's the image you like and want to see on your wall, then buy something for that and don't concern yourself with authenticity or value. $300 is too high for a print of that type imo BUT custom frames of good quality will run you that and more. So, if the frame is as good as you say, then the price might be worth it for that. The frame is very likely to be a pre-fab piece if this guy didn't have it framed himself though.

 

Anybody can do an etching or engraving. Anyone can sign a piece of paper. Someone could do a print under license to an artist, or simply pay the artist for the use of the name.

 

Anybody can produce a COA.

Debora

 

COAs are worth the paper they're on and no more, unless the certifier is reputable. These guys are the opposite.

 

Very nicely said. Thank you!

 

I agree. COAs are for "collectables" and are gimmicks. The paper you really want is an appraisal from a certified appraiser... especially one of note. Or a legit bill of sale from a gallery that actually represented the artist while living lol.

 

Preferably both, especially if the artist has been gone for a while. Auction sale records are good too.