Art On Regent

[Gr8Mariner]

I visited Navigator last month and Park West still had a gallery onboard. Are they on the other ships too? I thought that the lawsuits had shut them down.

[Travelcat2]

I wish the lawsuits had shut them down. It seems that their presence is the greatest on the Navigator and Mariner -- not so much on the Voyager. IMO, having Park West on Regent makes Regent look bad! Obviously I feel quite strongly about this.

[indigosea]

The Art Auctions are awful but if people still want to donate to the Line...so be it. Most of the frames are worth more than their contents!

[xrvlcruiser]

Indigosea,

 

I don't think that the art auctions have anything to do with donating to the ship/crew - I'm pretty sure the people who put the auctions on are in business for themselves.

 

I don't go to the auctions so I'm not 100% sure but I'm sure someone else will jump in here.

 

If you want to make a donation to the Crew Fund, that's a whole different thing.

 

Peggy

[room010]

I think indigosea means that Regent gets a "cut" from the auctions. I'm not a fan either and have never seen anything even vaguely tempting but it's all a matter of personal taste. I assume there are sufficient art "connoisseurs" on board to make the auctions worthwhile.

[TheSeaAroundUs]

Had dinner with a couple on my last cruise (he a very successful author, she deep into art).

 

She had an appointment to speak with the Park West person (for the second or third time) about a few pieces she was interested in. She seemed pretty darn enough excited about it.

 

This was stunning to me. Her delightful and enlightening dinner conversation revealed an extensive and educated history of, and involvement with, the arts. *And*, she was still planning to buy from this person?! It opened my eyes up a bit at least. She knew more than that salespuppy did, and was still willing (nay, eager!) to buy from him.

 

*SO!*, I think it just goes ta show ya.....

[EleanorWW]

when we were younger and still aspirational, we attended the art auction on our first-ever cruise, which was on the Radisson Diamond. I spotted a piece that was on display and thought it was something I could live with and enjoy. we bid, and it was mine.

 

the serigraph? litho? arrived in a tube. I didn't know I would end up spending as much on the frame and matting as the piece, but I was younger then.

 

anyway... the work now hangs in my very charming "office" and has come with me to three houses in less than ten years.

 

personally, I think I've received good value with my shipboard "art auction" piece.

 

my opinion? buy what you like.

[xrvlcruiser]

Yes, Regent gets a piece of the action - as it does - I assume - from the shop and the spa (I don't know about the casino).

 

And to The Sea Around Us . . . interesting story!

[hondorner]

The Art Auctions are awful but if people still want to donate to the Line...so be it. Most of the frames are worth more than their contents!

 

I think indigosea means that Regent gets a "cut" from the auctions. I'm not a fan either and have never seen anything even vaguely tempting but it's all a matter of personal taste. I assume there are sufficient art "connoisseurs" on board to make the auctions worthwhile.

 

Yes, IndigoSea's comment is pretty accurate. From the perspective of the cruise line, two things are important. Do enough of he guests find the auctions interesting enough to be entertained? And, is the cut of the price paid to the ship enough to cover the expense?

 

Considering the former question, not everyone has to be pleased. Not everyone uses the casino, not everyone attends the shows, not everyone buys from the boutique, not everyone uses the spa, among many similar activities.

 

Considering the latter, some the above activities cost the company a lot of money but are considered obligatory, such as shows. Art auctions are more optional. However, they do incur an expense -- the personnel associated with the auction are not crew members but are housed in cabin that would otherwise provide revenue, for example.

 

The bottom line is that if the expenses are higher than revenue, and if attendance is dropping off, they may be eliminated. There are no more art auctions aboard any Oceania ship (and no more ship photographers aboard either Regent or Oceania for the same reasons).

[ChatKat in Ca.]

When we were on Mariner last year, Park West had exclusive use two of the 10 nights we were on board for Prime 7; They had invited clients onboard the ship - not one or two clients but a group of them. Needless to say, the nights I wanted to go to Prime 7 were days when we were not in port late and they had taken up the only two nights that we departed our port at 5pm.

[Travelcat2]

If Regent wants to have an art auction on board, that is their right. However, the following article (one of many) is why I find it offensive to have Park West on Regent:

 

From ArtDaly.org



Park West Gallery Proved by Lawsuit Loss to Be Selling Fake Dalí Prints

DETROIT, MI.- The recent loss of Park West Gallery’s defamation case against Fine Art Registry and three individuals shows that the jury in Federal Court in Eastern Michigan had no doubt that the evidence they were shown proved that Park West Gallery has been selling and continues to sell inauthentic art, including Salvador Dalí prints, using fraudulent misrepresentation at art auctions on cruise ships. And Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines have stated that they will not be renewing their contract with the disgraced gallery.

 

Park West Gallery sued Fine Art Registry and the other defendants in the case for defamation. The main point Park West attempted and failed to prove through their witnesses and experts was that the Dalí prints they sell are genuine and bear genuine signatures and that the statements by Fine Art Registry that they were not genuine were defamatory. Fine Art Registry defended the defamation claim on the basis of TRUTH. According to Fine Art Registry there was no defamation because all of the statements the web based company made were truthful. These statements included the following:

 

• That Park West Gallery had sold and is still selling fake prints or genuine prints with forged signatures to its customers, including those of Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí, many of which were sourced from the controversial Albaretto family in Turin, Italy.

 

• That Park West Gallery was guilty of criminal, fraudulent misrepresentation and other criminal activities under the guise of selling art at so-called “art auctions” on cruise ships and elsewhere.

 

The jury found that there had been NO DEFAMATION because the statements were indeed factual.

 

The experts who testified for Fine Art Registry about the Salvador Dalí prints and signatures were Nicolas Descharnes, Frank Hunter and William Flynn. Nicolas Descharnes and his father Robert Descharnes, who worked with Dalí personally for 40 years, are acknowledged to be the only experts in the world trusted by the leading art auction houses to authenticate Dalí original work. Nicolas Descharnes testified as an expert on Dalí and Dalí signatures. He said of the results of the lawsuit, "It is a great historical victory for the preservation of the art of Salvador Dalí. I'm proud of my contribution to the justice of United States which fulfilled its mission."

 

Frank Hunter, Director of the Salvador Dalí Archives in New York, who worked with Albert Field in the compilation of the well respected catalog of Dalí’s graphic works, testified as an expert on Salvador Dalí graphic works (prints) and on Salvador Dalí’s signature. After hearing the jury’s verdict in the trial he said, “The opinions expressed by Nicolas Descharnes and myself are based on a firm foundation of knowledge, first-hand experience with the works of Dalí and with Dalí personally.

 

Such opinions are considered expert opinions. Real experts cooperate with one another, and, as professionals, do not spew invectives at other experts. Someone whose opinions are based on speculation, conjecture, or guesswork is not, in anyone's opinion, an expert. Dalí authentication should be left to the authentic experts.” Frank Hunter was the only witness who testified in the court who had personally watched Salvador Dalí signing prints in series.

 

The eminent handwriting expert William Flynn, in his remarkably clear testimony which left the jury in no doubt that the so-called Dalí signatures on the prints sold by Park West which he examined were fake, described the most commonly seen signature type as “a crude forgery” and another set as “practiced forgeries.” He used science to demonstrate the basis for his opinion.

 

It is notable that Park West retained two handwriting experts in this case but neither one testified in court because they could not affirm that the signatures on the Park West prints were by the hand of Salvador Dalí and they had great respect for William Flynn and his expertise. The only expert witness on the subject of Salvador Dalí signatures who appeared in court for Park West Gallery was their own retained appraiser and self-proclaimed Dalí expert Bernard Ewell who never met Salvador Dalí and is not recognized as an expert on Dalí by anyone other than Park West and himself. His testimony was therefore very unconvincing.

 

Having lost their defamation case in Michigan, Park West Gallery still faces six class action suits – four in Michigan, one in Washington and one in Florida – as well as individual cases against the gallery and its principals, with other cases on the way.

 

It is apparent that Park West Gallery has for some time been under investigation for criminal activities by several separate Federal agencies, including the US Postal Inspection Services (for mail fraud), the FBI, the IRS and Customs and Border Protection. Park West Gallery’s defeat in their defamation case against Fine Art Registry should open the door for these Federal agencies to move ahead and bring their investigations to a rapid conclusion. Fine Art Registry has been helping these agencies by providing all available information to them and by putting them in contact with Park West Gallery customers/victims and with ex-employees who have much inside information to impart.

 

The jury’s verdict, after a nearly six week trial in which a great deal of evidence was presented which is relevant to all the cases and investigations, will no doubt have great bearing in the other lawsuits and in the Federal investigations.

 

Also in the wake of the Michigan Federal Court case comes the decision on the part of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Park West’s largest cruise line partner, not to renew the contract with Park West Gallery which terminates shortly. Tony Faso, Associate General Counsel for RCCL, told Fine Art Registry, “We are not renewing the contract with Park West.”

 

The verdict of the Federal Court jury in Michigan has great significance for the Dalí graphics market which has been inundated by very expensive forgeries sold by Park West, many of them coming from the Albaretto family in Turin who have for years been surrounded by controversy regarding the authenticity of their Dalí collection and the prints they have placed on the market. Park West’s defeat in this lawsuit has now established in a court of law that this art is indeed inauthentic.

 

Theresa Franks, CEO of Fine Art Registry, said, “It is clear that the jury’s recent verdict in the Federal Court case in Michigan is a landmark decision which will have wide impact on the Dalí print market, the practices of cruise ship art auctions, and the future of Park West Gallery and its operating methods. This is an example of a SLAPP lawsuit which has backfired very heavily on the plaintiff and a lesson that should be learned by litigation-happy companies who feel they can silence their critics with frivolous lawsuits instead of paying attention to legitimate complaints and reforming their corrupt or criminal practices.”

 

For more information please see the Fine Art Registry Web site www.fineartregistry.com.





 



 

Park West Gallery | Fine Art Registry | Fake Dalí Prints |

That article was from 2011. Here is one from 2012:

http://www.fineartregistry.com/articles/2011-05/salvador-dali-foundation-blasts-park-west-gallery.php

[xrvlcruiser]

This sort of thing has been around for several years but has not been posted on CC for a while.

 

I don't understand why - with all this evidence, Regent (and I assume Oceania) still have Park West on board. I guess the line makes enough money to warrant it.

 

Thanks Jackie for posting this.

[ededmd]

Regent (and I assume Oceania) still have Park West on board. I guess the line makes enough money to warrant it.

 

as per Don's post (#9), no art auctions on O.

[xrvlcruiser]

should have gone back to look . . sorry.

[JoAnne B]

I have been offended by the horrible "art" lining the walls and halls of Regent ships since the Diamond days. I'm not an expert by any means, although I am a collector of of some rather fine art. As we know, art is in the eye of the beholder, but fake or forged art is another matter. It amazes me that otherwise intelligent people continue to buy from this company. Unfortunately, the decision to continue to offer what may be fakes or fogeries suggests that Regent places more emphasis on the money they make than on ethics or honesty.

[wripro]

Not to mention that it just looks plain tacky!!!!

[Arusha]

Oddly, Regent is owned by Apollo Global Management, whose CEO (Leon Black) is a trustee of The Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and is an art collector of some reknown. He paid a record price ($120 million) last May for one of 4 versions of "The Scream" by Munch. You'd think he'd want to get rid of "art" sales on Regent.

[hondorner]

Oddly, Regent is owned by Apollo Global Management, whose CEO (Leon Black) is a trustee of The Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and is an art collector of some reknown. He paid a record price ($120 million) last May for one of 4 versions of "The Scream" by Munch. You'd think he'd want to get rid of "art" sales on Regent.

As I've mentioned several times, Apollo tends to take a "hands off" approach to Prestige Cruise Holdings (the actual management of Regent and Oceania). The Chairman and CEO of PCH, Frank Del Rio, is an art aficionado in his own right, and has personally (or with the Assistance of Bob Binder, Vice Chairman of PCH) chosen all of the art on Oceania's ships, and much of the art seen recently on Regent ships. None of the art he has chosen could be considered "tacky".

[Travelcat2]

As I've mentioned several times, Apollo tends to take a "hands off" approach to Prestige Cruise Holdings (the actual management of Regent and Oceania). The Chairman and CEO of PCH, Frank Del Rio, is an art aficionado in his own right, and has personally (or with the Assistance of Bob Binder, Vice Chairman of PCH) chosen all of the art on Oceania's ships, and much of the art seen recently on Regent ships. None of the art he has chosen could be considered "tacky".

 

I believe that posters on this thread are calling Park West's artwork "tacky". FDR has excellent taste and is a great artist in his own right.

[fizzy]

Are there any pieces of his work onboard and what medium does he work with? Obviously, everyone has their own taste in artwork but I think it would be kinda cool to see his work if it is available for viewing. Anyone know?

[TheSeaAroundUs]

I wish, here, to (only speculatively) address one question:

 

Q: Why does Regent "still allow" Park West on board, when even Oceania has given them the boot?

 

A: Just possibly, they are bound by contract, from some previous date, until some future date. Even if they plan to definitely do away with PW, it may suit their interest to await the termination of any contractual obligations already obtaining.

[Travelcat2]

Are there any pieces of his work onboard and what medium does he work with? Obviously, everyone has their own taste in artwork but I think it would be kinda cool to see his work if it is available for viewing. Anyone know?

 

The last time I posted where it was on the ship (there is one piece on each ship), the post was removed. Perhaps you could ask at Reception?