I bought four authentic Chagall Lithographs from this Art Dealer ($10,500 total) Neal said the signature were also authentic. The prints themselves are removed from a book and although legit are only worth about $800 each. Because Neal himself told me that the artist had signed the prints on a visit to New York I felt the inflated price Neal was asking was justified. However; when i received the prints which were shipped home for me, the certificates of authenticity simply stated that the signature were complimentry. It is common practice for the certificate of authenticity to clearly state " signed by the artist" not simply "complimentary". Mr Elinoff stated that because the prints were out of a publication of lithographs which were originally unsigned it was therefore a complimentary signature. My point is: this certificate should say complementary signature by the artist, not simply a complimentary signature. A complimentary signature is too vague and certainly does not provide any authenticity to the signature. I can sign a Picasso and give you the print and say "a Picasso with a complimentary signature".
Although Mr. Elinoff will provide me an exchange for something else in his gallery, he will not provide a refund. Frankly, there is nothing in his gallery of any reasonable value to me other than those prints. If he has the integrity to exchange the prints for the money paid i will post here the follow up. This posting expresses what occurred and my opinion thereof. I have not been able to find any similar prints that are signed or any dealers to believe the signatures to be authentic. Now because these prints have a decorative complimentary signature they are worth even less than if they were unsigned. I will approach Mr Elinoff one last time this week in an attempt to get my money back and will post my results. I am prepared to begin action with the local chamber of commerce, bbb and the state attorney generals office in Colorado. This is an extremely embarrassing conundrum for me and I can no longer display these Lithographs without some shame and expectation of ridicule.
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