The Great Dali Art Fraud and Other Deceptions
A reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin penetrates the sleazy netherworld of the art business in this tangled investigative report. In the 1980s, Catterall contends, thousands of art collectors and investors unknowingly bought fake prints purported to be signed originals by Dali, Chagall, Miro and other famous artists. Dali, who died in 1989, is portrayed here as "the P. T. Barnum of art," an avaricious huckster who, aided by his wife, Gala, used pre-signed print papers and dealt with shady publishers to create a $12-million-a-year racket. Efforts to crack down on unscrupulous galleries and boiler-room operations brought together the Federal Trade Commission, state agencies and police departments from New York and Los Angeles. Catterall focuses on a sensational 1989-1990 trial in Honolulu involving prints allegedly made by Dali, Chagall and Hollywood celebrities. A useful appendix lists genuine Dali lithographs.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.