The Great Dali Art Fraud and Other Deceptions

by Lee Catterall

The Great Dali Art Fraud and Other Deceptions deals with the world of art professionals who reap millions of dollars in illicit profits. It's a mesmerizing tale of corruption and connivance in acts that include forging, counterfeiting, phony valuations and large-scale theft. These highwayman robberies are only possible with the cooperation of the artist. In Salvador Dali, the scam world found someone who clearly looked the other way. High speed presses churn out photo-lithographed prints by the thousands. These are never touched by the hands of the artist. They are sold by galleries and art corporations who pick the pockets of the amateur collector public by selling them as costly signed limited editions "sure to increase in value." Could it be, asks author Lee Catterall, that Salvador Dali, the outlandish Spaniard with the waxed mustache, never made an original print? Never drew onto a printing plate his esoteric assortment of tree-branch crutches, flexible violins, lobster telephones and melting clocks? Could it be that all he ever did was sign a mind-boggling 350,000 sheets of high-quality acid-free paper to be later imprinted with forged work of others? Could it be that Salvador Dali, driven by avarice and the urging of his paramour wife and financial wizard, Gala, was thoroughly seduced by the gold harvested from his art? Or could it be that his charming and volatile managers, Irish Captain J. Peter Moore and the Catalonian ex-photographer Enrique Sabater, were responsible for the frauds - and the horror stories of the swindled buyers? In the Great Dali Art Fraud and Other Deceptions, Lee Catterall offers the facts needed to solve this intriguing mystery. The Great Dali Art Fraud and Other Deceptions will be vital reading to anyone who ever bought a print, lithograph, water color or oil painting from a gallery.

Genres: Nonfiction

417 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1992

Reviews

[Raul · Rating 2 out of 5]

A laundry list of facts does not a good story make. What is an otherwise interesting account collapses under the weight of the many unnecessary exhaustive, tiring details. Every fact is treated as equally relevant and important, and long after a point has been made, the author keeps on yammering away, page after page. A book in desperate need of an editor to reign in and bring focus to the narrative. The story of Salvador Dalí as the moneygrubbing charlatan and fraudster that he was is worth telling but remains to be told in full.

[Boris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars that I rounded up to 4. An interesting and fascinating look at the fraud of the art print market. Some interesting background on Dali and other artists. The book was published in the early 90's and I don't know if this problem still persists.

I have a moderate interest in Dali which included having visited the Dali Museum in St Petersburg, Florida and having seen the films he collaborate with Luis Bunuel at a film festival, Un Chien Andalou and L'Age d'Or.

[Kathleen Lovelace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever consider purchasing "fine art" prints? Catterall, a journalist, manages to convey the thrill felt by unwary "investors" persuaded to purchase "original" works by the great artists of the 20th century including Dali, Miro, Chagall, Warhol and Picasso, to their devastation in learning the truth. This fascinating account of the production of fraudulent art prints worldwide and the unraveling of the deception spanning several decades bogs down due to the weight of its complexity yet kept me fascinated to the end.