Alec Baldwin accuses art dealer of fraud

NEW YORK. The famous Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin appealed to the New York State Supreme Court with a lawsuit against art dealer Mary Boone. The court documents say that in 2010, Boone deceived Baldwin and sold him the wrong picture.

The lawsuit claims that Mary Boone promised Baldwin the painting “Sea and Mirror” by artist Ross Bleckner (Sea and Mirror, Ross Bleckner), but actually sold the actor a copy of the original painting. “The painting that was delivered to me from Ms. Boon is not the original, we didn’t agree on that,” Baldwin said after submitting the lawsuit.

Ross Blackner - Sea and Mirror

Lawyer Alec Baldwin explained that Boone had committed fraud by stamping the inventory number of the original canvas on the back of the painting. Boone’s lawyer, Ted Porec, dismissed Baldwin’s lawsuit as false and an attempt to intimidate Boone.

“Mary Boone has no interest in misleading her clients, and we are confident that this frivolous and vengeful lawsuit will not be satisfied,” he said in a statement to reporters. “The indecent reaction of Mr. Baldwin is perplexing, especially since Ms. Boone offered him a refund of the full cost of the painting and took other measures in order to resolve the situation on a professional level.”

Baldwin paid $ 190,000 for the painting, but when he received it, it turned out to be brighter and had a different smell than the one he had seen before. Mary Boone explained the difference in color and smell by the fact that the painting had been restored, but the examination showed that the painting sold to Baldwin was a later copy of the original made by Blackner. By the way, in his early statements, Porets pointed out that Baldwin was allegedly informed that he was acquiring a copy. Baldwin claims that he was sure that he was buying the original.

This debate lifted the veil over the often very opaque deals made in the New York art market. The matter aroused great interest in the city, because on the one hand, Baldwin occupies a central place in the cultural life of New York, on the other, Mary Boone has owned a well-known gallery for almost forty years and has a good reputation in the city.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru