Fine Art Registry^® (FAR) Posts Deliberately Misleading Information

Makes no attempt to inform readers of court ruling in favor of the Albaretto family

On January 14, 2009 Fine Art Registry (FAR) posted a 2004 article translated from its original publication in the German newspaper, Zeitung. The 5-year-old article discusses a (former) investigation into the Dali-Albaretto collection and concludes, “The state run Dali foundation in Figueras (Spain), which holds the copyright for Dali's work, is awaiting the results of the Frieburg [Germany] trial with great interest.” FAR withholds material information from its readers -- in 2005 the German court ruled definitively in favor of the Albaretto family.

THE FACTS:

There are no judicial proceedings or investigations pending against the Albaretto family. After a thorough investigation by law enforcement authorities, in 2005 the Court of Mannheim in Germany held that there was no evidence of any misconduct by the Albarettos. All artwork seized from the Albaretto family during the investigations was returned to them by court order. The Albaretto family also won the rights to monetary damages, though they did not pursue them. In addition, the Italian government recently relied on members of the Albaretto family, as Dali authorities, to provide expert testimony against producers of fake Dali prints and sculptures.

The investigations carried out against the Albarettos were successfully concluded in their favor, with allegations of any impropriety simply proven to be unfounded.

You be the Judge: Is Fine Art Registry Practicing Responsible Journalism?