The Fine Art Advocacy Foundation

The Fine Art Advocacy Foundation

The Fine Art Advocacy Foundation represents victims of art crimes and art fraud, their families and friends, and individuals concerned about the problems of victimization and art fraud and art crime on an International level.  The Fine Art Advocacy Foundation plans to advocate for legislative reform to protect artists, collectors and institutions from art crime and art fraud and to increase the rights of victims of art crimes, as well as to provide support to victims of art crimes and art fraud that occur on a daily basis worldwide.

The current art market is rife with crime and fraud. Our goal is to provide assistance to victims and those in need and in any manner possible. We can serve as an invaluable resource to all who have been victimized or that need assistance in navigating the uncertainty of today’s art industry.

Cruise Ship Art Auctions

Art auctions have been a popular pastime on cruise ships for over a decade, auctioning off everything from Picassos and Dalis to the works of up-and-coming living artists. And while all who attend cruise ship art auctions agree they can be quite entertaining with non-stop free bubbly and a festive atmosphere, mixed reviews abound on the concept of buying art at sea.

Consumer complaint websites have pages of comments from people who have bought art on various cruise lines. The majority of the posts describe being “scammed,” having “overpaid,” been “ripped off,” or “lied to” by auctioneers and the art companies that run the auctions. But scattered among complaints are some positive reviews as well. Learn More

Suspected Fake Dali Prints Investigation

As a result of the public coming to us with questions about the authenticity and value of prints attributed to Salvador Dali which they have purchased, many of them at art auctions aboard cruise ships, we have decided to investigate the origins of these prints. A large majority of them include in their provenance mention of the Alabaretto family of Torino, Italy.

We will investigate and gather information about these graphic works of Dalí and publish everything we find here so that the general public can educate themselves on the subject with a view to avoiding the pitfalls and traps set for the unwary by unscrupulous dealers who sell fake art as genuine. Learn More

Forensic Science and Art
In November 2006 we became involved in the subject of art and forensics when artist, Frank Brown, saw a painting known as Teri’s Find featured on TV and thought it might be one that he himself had painted.  A fingerprint examiner was commissioned to review the report that claimed the painting was authenticated as a Jackson Pollock using fingerprint analysis. The fingerprint examiner found the claim to be false.

Art provenance and forensic science studies focuses on the areas of evidence supporting art authenticity and/or inauthenticity decisions, their processes, problems, and possible resolutions.  Authenticating works of art is grounded in the process of scientific analysis, provenance research, and connoisseurship. Provenance research focuses on establishing a document trail indicating that a particular work was from the hand of the artist. Learn More