Those involved are having to wait a while longer to find out the verdict of the ongoing dispute to authenticate a painting alleged to have been made by Scottish artist Peter Doig. Back in 2013, Robert Fletcher, a former corrections officer at Thunder Bay Correctional Center (northwest Ontario, Canada), and art dealer Peter Barlow filed a law suit against Doig after the Scottish artist refused to authenticate a painting which he claimed he did not paint. The ensuing trial, which began earlier in the month, ended this week but without a verdict by Judge Feinerman, Artnet reports.
The painting in question is owned by Fletcher, who said a teenage Doig sold it to him for $100 in 1977 during his incarceration at the facility while Fletcher was employed there. Though Doig was living in Canada as a teenager at the time, he has provided alibis for his whereabouts and maintains that he neither served time at Thunder Bay Correctional Center nor made the painting. The artist’s signature on the disputed painting reads ‘Pete Doige’ – a name the Scottish artist has never used. Another man (now deceased) did go by by the name of Pete Doige and did indeed spend time at the prison during the year in which the work was made. The plaintiffs’ appraiser has valued the painting at $6-8m if it can be proved to be a genuine Doig, and $100,000 if proved not. The trial calls in to question how much control an artist has over the branding of their name and whether or not an artist has the right to disown artwork. Judge Feinerman demurred the plaintiffs’ calls for an immediate decision, stating that he needed more time to inspect the painting. A verdict is expected in the coming weeks.
19 August 2016
