A Posthumous Forgery Falsely Attributed as a John Lennon Drawing
UPDATED: September 17, 2016
[Above] The so-called Octopuses Garden drawing attributed to John Lennon.
Someone [who will remain anonymous] emailed the above jpg photograph with the following request: "I own Octopuses Garden. I was wondering if you have John Lennon forensic certification I have the number 55386. I would welcome some help with this."
When I inquired for additional information, they emailed the following response: "I bought the drawing from Yoko Ono as a charity sale in Winter Park Florida by her Legacy Productions. I need the certification of Johns signature. I paid $14,000 for the framed drawing and want to sell it at auction as I am on a limited income. - I bought this from a dark haired sales person who had just got a divorce and was swinging the other way (laugh) He told me that it was a Bag One piece. He showed me all the documentation. He was kind of upset I bought that one cause he also had John's drawing of an Englishman, original. He did not speak of value. He knew me from past shows. I have a very large collection but this is the only original I bought."
This is what I documented for them.
Front Cover of John Lennon's published 1964 In His Own Write book and page 6.
IN HIS OWN WRITE
In 1964, John Lennon’s In His Own Write book was published with not only his words but reproductions of his drawings.
page 3, Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing, In His Own Write by John Lennon.
page 7, Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing, In His Own Write by John Lennon.
page 54, Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing, In His Own Write by John Lennon
Those reproductions of John Lennon’s drawings in his 1964 published In His Own Write book may provide insight and proof to whether a drawing, sold for $14,000 by Legacy Fine Art & Production Inc. in one of their so-called Artwork of John Lennon exhibitions, is authentic lifetime drawing by John Lennon or a non-disclosed posthumous forgery.
1. STILTED LINES
[Right] Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 7 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964.
-Detail -of the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing attributed to John Lennon.
-Detail- Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 7 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964.
Notice the so-called Octupuses Garden drawing, attributed to John Lennon, has stilted lines with pressure points as if someone was stopping while copying an image. The reason someone stops while copying an image, is so they can compare their copy to the image they are copying. When they do so, the pen if resting on the paper tends to continue to leak ink resulting in pressure points a.k.a. darker lines.
In contrast, in the reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing, reproduced on page 7 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964, has smooth and clean the lines of someone who was drawing rather than copying.
2. SMALLER FLOWER-LIKE EAR
[Right] Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 7 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964.
-Detail -of the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing attributed to John Lennon.
-Detail- Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 7 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964.
Notice the so-called Octupuses Garden drawing, attributed to John Lennon, has a smaller flower-like ear that is rounder and lines connected in design.
In contrast, in the reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 7 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964, how flower-like ear is larger with lines that are disconnected.
3. STUNTED THUMBS
[Left] Detail- of the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing attributed to John Lennon.
[Right] Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 7 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964.
-Detail -of the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing attributed to John Lennon.
-Detail- Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 7 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964.
Notice the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing, attributed to John Lennon, has longer arms and stunted thumbs, as if someone was copying rather than drawing.
In contrast, in the reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 7 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964, has shorter arms and longer thumbs.
In contrast, in the reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 7 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964, has shorter arms and longer thumbs.
4. PRESSURE POINTS
[Left] The so-called Octopuses Garden drawing attributed to John Lennon.
[Right] page 3, Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing, In His Own Write by John Lennon.
[Left] -Detail -of the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing attributed to John Lennon.
[Right] -Detail- Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 7 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964.
Notice the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing, attributed to John Lennon, has pressure points from stopping while copying resulting in darker lines in the beak and wings.
In contrast, in the reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 3 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964, the lines overlap in the neck of the bird, the right leg and hand and the legs are straight.
In contrast, in the reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 3 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964, the lines overlap in the neck of the bird, the right leg and hand and the legs are straight.
5. PINOCCHIO-LIKE NOSE
[Left] The so-called Octopuses Garden drawing attributed to John Lennon.
[Right] page 54, Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing, In His Own Write by John Lennon.
[Left] -Detail -of the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing attributed to John Lennon.
[Right] -Detail- Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 54 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964.
Notice the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing, attributed to John Lennon, the figure has a longer narrower Pinocchio-like nose.
In contrast in the reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 54 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964, a similar figure has a short bulbous nose.
In contrast in the reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 54 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964, a similar figure has a short bulbous nose.
6. FAT STILTED FROG LEGS
[Left] The so-called Octopuses Garden drawing attributed to John Lennon.
[Right] page 3, Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing, In His Own Write by John Lennon.
[Left] -Detail -of the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing attributed to John Lennon.
[Right] -Detail- Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 3 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964.
Notice the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing, attributed to John Lennon, the lines in the wings and eyes are stilted with pressure points from stopping while copying and the bird legs look like fat stilted frog legs.
In contrast in the reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 3 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964, the lines in the bird’s wings and legs are smooth and clean.
In contrast in the reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 3 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964, the lines in the bird’s wings and legs are smooth and clean.
[Left] Lennon, John
UNTITLED ILLUSTRATION OF A BOY WITH SIX BIRDS
Estimate 12,000 — 15,000 USD
LOT SOLD. 27,500 USD (Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium)
9 3/10 x 7 4/5 in.; 237 x 198 mm, ink drawing in black with editorial notes added in blue ink on single leaf (10 x 8 in.; 254 x 203 mm, unwatermarked), unsigned, small nick to top edge, slight creasing, minor spotting
Catalogue Notes:
The first illustration from In His Own Write, published on page 3, and one that does not appear to accompany any text. One bird, balanced on the boy's head, appears to be contained in a bottle whilst others are perched on each hand. The boy seems to have only three fingers and a thumb on his left hand. The editorial comments note the instruction to the printer to "REVERSE Left to Right" and also provide the published page number. This drawing was used as the artwork for the 7" single and CD single release of 'Free as a Bird'. The song, composed and recorded by John Lennon in 1977, was remixed with contributions from the other Beatles in 1995. First released on the Anthology 1 album, it was released as a single on 4 December 1995. It would reach number two in the UK singles chart and number 6 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Link: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/so-lennon-manuscripts-sale-n09156/lot.1.html
[Photo: http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/P6GG1M4bhY-/John+Lennon+Drawings+Auctioned/hkXj-sKMq7C]
[Right] page 3, Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing, In His Own Write by John Lennon.
ORIGINAL JOHN LENNON DRAWING REPRODUCED IN REVERSE
Notice in John Lennon's original drawing the bird is on the upper left. In John Lennon's published 1964 In His Own Write book the printer was instructed to reverse the image. Therefore putting the bird on the upper right. So, when the bird was drawn as part of the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing, someone either did not know they were copying a reverse image of the original or that no one would find out or both.
7. ANOTHER PINOCCHIO-LIKE NOSE
[Right] page 54, Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing, In His Own Write by John Lennon.
[Left] -Detail -of the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing attributed to John Lennon.
[Right] -Detail- Reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 54 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964.
Notice the so-called Octopuses Garden drawing, attributed to John Lennon, the pressure points from stopping while copying along with the Pinocchio-like nose. There seems to be a pattern with the penchant for longer noses. Is this a tell?
In contrast, in the reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 54 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964, how the lines are fluid and clean with a shorter nose that just just barely extends beyond its lip.
In contrast, in the reproduction of John Lennon’s drawing reproduced on page 54 in John Lennon’s In His Own Write book published in 1964, how the lines are fluid and clean with a shorter nose that just just barely extends beyond its lip.
8. LENNON SIGNATURE?
[Right] - SALE 8463 —, ENTERTAINMENT MEMORABILIA, 5 December 2000, New York, East, Lot Description
JOHN LENNON SIGNED LIMITED EDITION LITHOGRAPH
A limited edition lithograph numbered 265/300 with text along the top and bottom margins reading John Lennon/bag one Cinnamon Press New York 1970. Displaying Lennon's pencilled signature on the lower right-side, this peice depicts a sketch John drew of himself and Yoko from his famed "Bag One" series.
30 x 22 1/2 inches http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/john-lennon-signed-limited-edition-1941623-details.aspx?intObjectID=1941623
[signature detail mine]
Rhetorically, is this so-called Octupuses Garden drawing, attributable to John Lennon, much less signed by him?
Though that question may not be hard to answer if not for $14,000 at stake, the principals behind the sale of this so-called Octopuses Garden drawing, attributed to John Lennon, have been involved for decades in one of the largest iconic art frauds of the 20th-21st century.
The following briefly documents their avarice.
LEGACY FINE ART & PRODUCTION INC.
The so-called “Artwork of John Lennon” exhibition and sale [owned by Yoko Ono and run by her business associates Legacy Fine Art & Production Inc. and others] is a -fraud- that consists of non-disclosed posthumous [after 1986] colorized and altered -forgeries-, falsely attributed to a dead John Lennon [d 1980], with counterfeit "John Lennon" chopmark/signatures in bogus editions offered for sale, to the unsuspecting public for hundreds to thousands of dollars each, as original works of visual art ie., lithographs, serigraphs and etchings.
The dead don't create artwork.
What proof is there to support these allegations?
FIRST, Legacy Fine Art & Production Inc. states on their website:
"At the time of his death, John had saved and preserved several hundred drawings that he considered important. In 1986, Yoko Ono began releasing limited editions of some of the meaningful drawings, using only fine art printing techniques, with the goal of re-establishing John Lennon as an important artist of his time." http://johnlennonartwork.com/faq/
The dead don't sign and number editions.
U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW
That factual perspective is confirmed by U.S. Copyright Law, which in part, states:
- "A 'work of visual art' is— (1) a painting, drawing, print or sculpture, existing in a single copy, in a limited edition of 200 copies or fewer that are signed and consecutively numbered by the author, or, in the case of a sculpture, in multiple cast, carved, or fabricated sculptures of 200 or fewer that are consecutively numbered by the author and bear the signature or other identifying mark of the author;"
- http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#101
SECOND, Legacy Fine Art Production Inc. states on their website:
"Serigraphs use a silkscreen to reproduce fine lines and colors. Stone lithographs are hand-pulled on a printing press using stone plates with the image transferred to the fine art paper. Each artwork was released in the medium most suited to capturing the original drawing." http://johnlennonartwork.com/faq/
The dead don't create lithographs, serigraphs and etchings.
U.S. CUSTOMS INFORMED COMPLIANCE MAY 2006
This factual perspective is confirmed by U.S. Customs Informed Compliance May 2006, which in part, states:
- "The expression “original engravings, prints and lithographs” means impressions produced directly, in black and white or in color, of one or of several plates wholly executed by hand by the artist, irrespective of the process or of the material employed by him, but excluding any mechanical or photomechanical process." To confirm, click on this link:
- Works of Art, Collector's Pieces, Antiques, and Other Cultural Property
- -05/01/2006
THIRD, Legacy Fine Art Production Inc. states on their website:
The dead don't collaborate, much less approve the posthumous alteration and colorization of posthumous reproductions from John Lennon's lifetime black & white drawings.
WORK OF VISUAL ART -EXCLUDES- COPIES THAT ARE COLLABORATIVE
This is confirmed in the Visual Artist’s Rights Act (H.R. bill 5316), which amended the Copyright Act of 1976, and was signed into law on December 1, 1990. In the 1995 The Visual Artist’s Business and Legal Guide compiled and edited by Gregory T. Victoroff, Esq., attorney Katherine M. Thompson specifically addresses issue of “collaboration” in the 1990 Visual Artist’s Rights Act. On page 28, the attorney wrote:
- “The VARA amends the Copyright Act to create a definition for a “work of visual art.” According to Section 602, -excluded are items - that generally exist in multiple copies and are collaborative in nature.”
Rhetorically, does Yoko Ono really believe that she can collaborate with the dead John Lennon or does it seem that Yoko Ono and her business associates Legacy Fine Art & Production Inc. believes and acts on the belief that the rule of law and the laws of nature do not apply to them?
FOURTH, Legacy Fine Art Production Inc. states on their website:
http://johnlennonartwork.com/faq/
The dead don't sign, much less approve the application of their chop.
DEFINITION OF SIGNATURE
This factual perspective is confirmed on page 1387 in the Seventh Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary, the term -signature- is defined as:
- “A person’s name or mark written by that person or at the person’s direction.”
FIFTH, the hubris of Yoko Ono and Legacy Fine Art & Productions Inc. is never more evident when they use the good name and reputations of a local charity, like the "Hopelink" to foster the illusion that the Artwork of John Lennon exhibition and sale has been somehow vetted by the non-profit, much less with its' association with a non-profit.
$3 DOLLAR DONATION AT DOOR IS ALL THE CHARITY GETS
Then to add insult to injury, the only money going to the charity is the voluntary $3 donation given at the door by the unsuspecting public at this so-called "Artwork of John Lennon" exhibition and sale. All of the sales of more than 72,000 non-disclosed- posthumous [after 1986] colorized and altered forgeries, with counterfeit John Lennon chopmark/signatures in bogus editions, goes into Yoko Ono and her business associates' pockets.
SIXTH, Yoko Ono’s company Bag One Arts Inc. is located at 110 West 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-6402 with the (212) 595-5537 telephone number.
NEW YORK CIVIL CODE
Under New York Civil Code 15.01 (2.) states:
- “Article fifteen of the New York arts and cultural affairs law provides for disclosure in writing of certain information concerning multiples of prints and photographs when sold for more than one hundred dollars ($100) - whether the multiple is a reproduction.”
The penalties for violation of New York Civil Code statutes under 15.15 may include but not limited to -refund-treble damages-court costs-expert witness fees-attorney fees- and not to mention potential civil fines.
In the State of New York under New York Civil Code 11.01, -counterfeit- is defined as:
- “a work of fine art or multiple made, altered or copied, with or without intent to deceive, in such a manner that it appears or is claimed to have an authorship which it does not in fact possess.”
Rhetorically, are Yoko Ono and her business associates -alter[ing]- the so-called Artwork of John Lennon, they offer for sale, “in such a manner that it appears or is claimed to have an authorship which it does not in fact possess?”
p.196 and 197, Skywriting by Word of Mouth by John Lennon, Copyright © 1986 by The Estate of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, ISBN 0-06-091444-0 (pbk)
BEFORE 1980, POSTHUMOUSLY PUBLISHED REPRODUCTION
107. An Egg Hatching, “Image: 11.5” x 10” Paper: 15” x 10”, Serigraphy, Stonehenge,” p. 43, John Lennon catalogue with the byline: Pacific Edge Gallery 540 S. Coast Hwy., #112. Laguna Beach, CA 92651-2479, www.lennonart.com
AFTER 1999, POSTHUMOUSLY COLORIZED FORGERY
WUSA CHANNEL 9
In a June 29, 2006 Washington D.C. station WUSA Channel 9 televised [Artwork of John Lennon exhibition in Alexandria, VA] story by reporter Bruce Leshan, this is Legacy Fine Art & Production Inc. director Rudy Siegel's admission:
- "The majority of the work on display was printed posthumously. - The artwork is coming from the Lennon estate. People aren't stupid. They know the difference between a print and an original."
ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION
Some four years later when a reporter is unaware of these contentious issues of authenticity, the Atlanta Journal Constitution publishes a November 30, 2010 "Lennon's art 'unassuming' Galleries eventually came to value work of ex-Beatle, Ono says" article by Sheila Poole, where Legacy Fine Art & Production Inc. director Rudy Siegel states:
- "Folks have been collecting and viewing John Lennon's work for 40 years," said Rudy Siegel, a producer at Legacy Productions, who helped put together the tour with Ono and Bag One Arts. "He was so prolific," Siegel said. "He was at home raising Sean and drawing. He wasn't doing any songwriting or recording. It was his outlet at the time to express himself."
LEGACY FINE ART PRODUCTION INC. - FOCUS THIS YEAR ON THE TRUTH
Then, to go from the ridiculous to the sublime, Yoko Ono's business associate Legacy Fine Art & Production Inc. on its' website, under the subtitle "Exhibits," states:
- "The focus this year is on truth & our continued quest to find all that is true in the world and within ourselves.” http://johnlennonartwork.com/exhibits/
MAGIC BIRDS 1964 "Magic Birds is perhaps the oldest of the drawings in the collection. It is important because John original drew it for the cover of his first book "In His Own Write." Because of this exposure, it is expected to be a collectors's item both in the world of art and memorabilia."
http://legacyfineart.net/artwork/magic-birds-1964/?utm_source=WEBSITE+UPDATE+08-22&utm_campaign=WEBSITE+UPDATE+08-22&utm_medium=email
NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERY
In a September 2016 email promotion, Legacy Fine Art & Production Inc. is offering for sale, for the "retail price of $8,000" at a "sale price of $2,200" with "framing included/free shipping," the above titled Magic Birds "Limited Edition Serigraphs Print" with a "1964" date, that is actually a non-disclosed posthumous forgery, falsely attributed to a dead John Lennon [d 1980] with a counterfeit "John Lennon" chop-mark/signature in a bogus edition with an illegible "Yoko Lennon" signature.
The dead don't serigraph, much less sign and number.
Rhetorically, without the counterfeit "John Lennon" chop-mark/signatureS, bogus edition numbering of 300 and excluding the illegible "Yoko Lennon" signatureS, would the public pay $8,000, much less $2,200 each to Legacy Fine Art & Production Inc. for nothing more than reproduction/posters?
So, considering the hubris of Yoko Ono and Legacy Fine Art & Production Inc. in their multi-decade long “Artwork of John Lennon” fraud are we to believe or just suspend disbelief that the so-called Octupuses Garden drawing, much less the Legacy Fine Art & Production Inc.'s titled Magic Bird "Limited Edition Serigraph Print," are attributable to John Lennon, much less signed by him?
This link to my online published "Artwork of John Lennon $100 Million FRAUD, The dead don't create artwork" monograph further documents these contentious issues of authenticity as it applies to Legacy Fine Art & Production Inc.:
- http://garyarseneau.blogspot.com/2006/09/artwork-of-john-lennon-fraud.html
FTC POLICY STATEMENT OF UNFAIRNESS
Finally, the United States Federal Trade Commission's" Policy Statement of Unfairness" states:
- “A seller’s failure to present complex and technical data on his product may lessen a consumer’s ability to choose, for example, but may also reduce the initial price he must pay for the article.---Finally, the injury must be one which consumers could not reasonably have avoided.”[FN 1]
In closing, the reputations and legacy of living and past artists, present and future consumers ie. the art-buying public deserve the re-establishment of the obvious; that the living presence and participation of the artist to once again be required, as it always should have been, to create the piece of art attributable to the artist if indeed it is attributed to them, much less purported to have been signed by them.
FOOTNOTES:
1. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/policystmt/ad-unfair.htm
posted by Gary Arseneau at
9:12 PM
