FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
David Phillips, Fine Art Registry
206-420-8341
www.fineartregistry.com
dphillips@fineartregistry.com
NEW DOCUMENTARY FROM FINE ART REGISTRY®
EXPOSES HALF MILLION DOLLAR FRAUD
(Phoenix, AZ — 5 January 2009) Global Fine Art Registry, LLC, has produced and
released a documentary video in which internationally renowned experts on Salvador Dali
and a research scientist examine a set of Dali Divine Comedy prints sold by Park West
Gallery for close to half a million dollars, and state their unanimous opinions that the prints
bear forged Dali signatures, in addition to a number of other anomalies in the set of boxed
prints.
The documentary entitled Divine Comedy? Divine Tragedy? Or Divine Farce? The Great
Park West Dali Half Million Dollar Swindle, a 30 minute version and a 10 minute short
summary of which can be viewed at www.fineartregistry.com (Divine Comedy? Divine
Tragedy? Or Divine Farce? The Great Park West Dali Half Million Dollar Swindle.) is a
running record of an investigation organized and filmed by Fine Art Registry and financed
by Sharon Day and Julian Howard (Fine Art Registry members and customers of Park
West Gallery who bought the Divine Comedy set).
The experts who came together in the warehouse environment of Mana Fine Arts storage
facility in Jersey City, New Jersey were Nicolas Descharnes, Paris based expert in Dali
originals who is, after his father Robert, the most respected expert on Dali originals in the
world today; Frank Hunter, Director of the Salvador Dali Archives, Ltd. of New York,
world recognized expert on Salvador Dali's graphic works who assisted Albert Field in the
compilation of the definitive Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dali; and
Joseph Barabe, an expert in microscopy and scientific examination specializing in art with
McCrone Group of Westmont, IL. Sharon Day, owner of the prints, Shaul Shemesh,
Operations Manager of Mana Fine Arts in Jersey City, NJ., Teri Franks, CEO of Fine Art
Registry, and a video team were also present.
The crate containing the prints, previously unopened except for a brief verification of
contents by Shaul Shemesh on its arrival at Mana Fine Arts from Park West Gallery in
Southfield, Michigan, was opened and the contents examined by the experts.

The microscope revealed that the prints were woodcuts on Rives paper, as described, and
conformed with all requirements of the popular and common sets of Dali prints published
by Les Heures Claires, Paris.
However, Nicolas Descharnes and Frank Hunter were adamant and unanimous in their
opinion that the penciled signatures attributed to Dali were definite forgeries, not by the
hand of the Spanish master.
They found additional anomalies in the set: it contains a mixture of prints with block
signatures and prints without (the sets of Dali's illustrations of Dante's Divine Comedy were
issued in book form without any signature in the block) showing that the set had been
compiled from different sources and was not, as the documentation claimed, as issued;
two tirage sheets, listing the details of the edition, were missing from the set.
In their opinions, these combined factors but above all the forged signatures, rendered the
print set of no value at all. Frank Hunter's opinion was that, without the fake signatures it
might be worth $10,000. If the signatures were genuine, estimates of its value ranged
between $30,000 and $80,000. A far cry from the $483,828 which Sharon Day and Julian
Howard paid to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. on behalf of Park West for them, under Park
West's representations that the prints and signatures were valid and that the set, at the price
they were asking, was an excellent investment opportunity.
Since Sharon Day and Julian Howard’s offer to return the prints for full refund was refused
by Park West, they have filed suit in Michigan against Park West Gallery, its owner Albert
Scaglione, gallery director Morris Shapiro, and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., (who
declined to offer any help in righting the matter with Park West, even though they were
directly involved in the sale and were the named beneficiaries of close to half a million
dollars wired by Julian Howard to pay for the art).
Even if we do not get our full refund, we hope that this documentary will help to prevent
others from falling for the same tricks and will help bring some order to the world of
Salvador Dali's amazing graphic works, said Sharon Day.
In addition to the documentary, Fine Art Registry is publishing a full length article
covering the investigation. There are still a number of questions to be answered and Fine
Art Registry is following up with the Director of Les Heures Claires, Daniel David, to try
to get to the bottom of the facts surrounding this set of prints.
This documentary is a step forward in our ongoing efforts to expose fraud and
misrepresentation in the art world, wherever we find it, said Fine Art Registry CEO, Teri
Franks. We hope that it will help save others from being duped and will play a part in
restoring honesty and fair play in the unregulated art market.
ABOUT FINE ART REGISTRY:
Fine Art Registry® is today's only high tech solution to the age old problems that have
existed in the art world since before the Ancient Greeks: How to establish provenance,

prove authenticity and ownership, prevent forgery and fakery, deter theft and, basically,
make it possible to create, buy and sell works of art with the security of knowing that they
are what they claim to be. Full information on FAR® and how the system of tagging and
registering art is available at www.FineArtRegistry.com.
View the Park West Half Million Dollar Fraud Documentary Video