>>> In a court judgement Hatfield vs. Artworld of Sherway /Court File No. SC-09-087264-0000/ Judge Paul J. Martial stated the following:
"The Court finds that there is overwhelming evidence that Norval Morrisseau signed paintings in black brush paint.” (Judgment by Judge Paul J Martial: March 25th, 2013 - Page 34)
This court finding was also purposely avoided by Jamie Kastner*, director of the 114 minute film “THERE ARE NO FAKES” which was screened at the 2019 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto on April 29th & May 1st 2019.
* - who is Kevin Hearn's 'high school buddy,' as noted by Shari Narine, Windspeaker.com Contributor
NOTE: Genuine Norval Morrisseau painting involved in this court case was also acquired from Randy Potter Estate Auctions and appraised by the late Mr. Joseph McLeod (1928-2017).
-----------------------------------------------
"On June 3, 1993, a day following Vadas’ and Morrisseau’s drive-by in which they saw the supposedly fraudulent Morrisseau work in the Gallery window, Morrisseau wrote a letter to Joseph McLeod. That letter has been produced and is in the evidentiary record. The letter was typed by another gallery owner, Don Robinson – a frequent ally of Norval Morrisseau’s and competitor of Joseph McLeod’s – and complains about the reproduction of Morrisseau works in McLeod’s promotional material. The letter never mentions forged Morrisseau paintings or fraudulent art of any kind; rather, it complains of the unauthorized reproduction of real Morrisseau paintings in McLeod’s brochure."
~ Justice Edward M. Morgan, May 24, 2018 (Paragraph 79); Kevin Hearn Vs. Joseph B. McLeod and Maslak McLeod Gallery Inc. /Court File No. CV-12-455650/
"This history of findings that Sinclair is unreliable undoubtedly provides an answer to why he was not called by Hearn’s counsel to testify about his intervention with the AGO here. At the same time, it fosters considerable skepticism as to whether the AGO’s decision to remove the painting from its exhibit was the right one. If history provides any clue, there is reason to believe that Sinclair was no more correct about Spirit Energy of Mother Earth than he was about Wheel of Life, the Morrisseau painting at issue in Hatfield. The AGO may well have acted in excessive haste and at the behest of someone who has made himself into a figure that is better for the art world to avoid than to rely on."
~ Justice Edward M. Morgan, May 24, 2018 (Paragraph 38); Kevin Hearn Vs. Joseph B. McLeod and Maslak McLeod Gallery Inc. /Court File No. CV-12-455650/
"Wheel of Life", © 1979 Norval Morrisseau
/Canvas front & VERSO/A landmark court decision confirms the authenticity of thousands of Norval Morrisseau paintings!
ArtworksHatfield vs. Artworld of Sherway
/Court File No. SC-09-087264-0000/
~ The following is the analysis and decision of Deputy Judge Paul J. Martial's judgement dated SEVEN YEARS AGO TODAY on March 25th, 2013 and officially issued by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on April 2nd, 2013 (Pages 35 - 39)
ANALYSIS – copy of Judge Martial’s Judgment
(Note: For clarity and brevity, we have removed Judge Martial’s lengthy supporting quotes from the trial transcripts, which he added between the paragraphs)
"The Court has considered in excess of some 750 pages of testimony over five days of hearing and reviewed the exhibits and considered the detailed written submissions of counsel.
"The Court finds that there is overwhelming evidence that Norval Morrisseau signed paintings in black brush paint.
"The eye witness testimony of his brother Wilfred Morrisseau who lived with him for substantial periods of time in the North and elsewhere and who saw him sign in black brush paint is convincing and credible.
"The testimony of Marlow Goring supports his testimony in regards to the practise of the artist signing paintings in black brush.
"Wilfred Morrisseau's testimony that his brother painted while in jail and his explanation of his brother's decadent lifestyle and his carefree attitude to life provides a cogent explanation for the lack of receipts to document the provenance.
"The Court adopts Wilfred Morrisseau's testimony that his brother painted a significant number of paintings en masse and it is therefore reasonable to conclude that his production was in the thousands.
"The testimony of Mr. Joseph McLeod is indicative of his care and the detailed efforts to confirm provenance, including the hiring of a forensic expert to examine the signature on the back of the painting indicate that he took his role to provide appraisals seriously.
"His testimony of the origin of the Cree syllabic signature, the name Copper Thunderbird and his interpretation of the painting "Wheel of Life" demonstrates his depth of knowledge of the painter due to his lengthy association with the artist.
"His explanation of the brown more muted colour of the painting compared to the brighter later paintings is credible when considered in the context of pictographs near Lac Seul and in Nipigon where Morrisseau lived and likely the inspiration of the earlier paintings. Such pictographs were also known to exist in the Petroglyphs near Peterborough where Morrisseau formerly resided.
"The Defendants acted reasonably in obtaining one of two appraisals from Mr. Joseph McLeod to authenticate the painting due to his knowledge of and prior dealings with the artist due to the controversy about provenance.
"The Court received the statutory declarations of Norval Morrisseau and letters filed by the Plaintiff in support of the allegation of forgery. This evidence was relevant and although hearsay was admitted since it was relevant to the central issue - Was the painting a forgery?
"In assessing the reliability of that evidence however, the Court notes that since this evidence was not subject to cross-examination it had to be carefully weighed in light of the testimony of all of the witnesses.
"The Plaintiff's own witness Donald Robinson provided viva voce testimony of Norval Morrisseau's inconsistency and difficulty in identifying his own work, and of his unpredictability.
"He agreed that Morrisseau could have memory problems from 2003 to 2006, and of his decline in health due to his illness.
Robinson's admission that he was not surprised that Morrisseau would sign a certificate of authenticity to please also cast doubt on the reliability of the statutory declarations signed by Morrisseau.
"Although a letter from a lawyer who was present at the signing of the statutory declaration and a doctor's letter were filed at trial, no expert testimony of capacity was proffered by the Plaintiff on such a key issue.
"Mr. Robinson was qualified as an expert in the area of valuation and appraisal. His testimony however overlapped into the area of handwriting and included an analysis of syllabic and English handwriting, areas for which he was not qualified.
"He has no formal training as an expert witness in handwriting analysis and his evidence is rejected.
"Mr. Robinson also testified as to his personal dealings with Morrisseau paintings. It was his view that there were a large number of forgeries.
"It was also clear that his personal views and business interests conflicted with his professional opinion since it was in his interest along with Mr. Vadas to maintain the price of Morrisseau paintings which would not otherwise be the case if the market was flooded with paintings sourced from Potter auctions.
"Mr. Joseph McLeod's testimony is preferred to that of Mr. Ritchie Sinclair. Mr. Sinclair's testimony of numerous forgers paid for with drugs although dramatic was not supported by the evidence.
DECISION
"After a careful consideration of all of the evidence, the Court finds that on the balance of probabilities that the painting "Wheel of Life" dated February 1979 is an original Norval Morrisseau and undoubtedly one of his most notorious paintings.
"The Plaintiff's claim is dismissed with costs fixed at $1,500.00 dollars pursuant to the written submissions of counsel.
"Dated at Toronto this 25th day of March 2013.
Signed
/Paul J. Martial/"
- -
~ This document, issued by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, also includes the introduction, plaintiff's and defence evidence as well as summary of testimonies by Ms. Margaret Hatfield, Mr. Donald Robinson, Mr. Ritchie Sinclair, Ms. Donna Child, Mr. Wilfred Morrisseau, Mr. Kevin Cott, Mr. Joseph McLeod, Mr. Marlow Goring, Dr. Atul K. Singla and Mr. James White.
Source: Deputy Judge Paul J. Martial's judgement
/Complete Original Downloadable Document/
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
/This is an appeal by the appellant Hatfield from the decision of the Honourable Deputy Judge Paul Martial of the Toronto Small Claims Court dated March 25, 2013./
~ Funded by Canada’s lawyers and notaries for the benefit of all, CanLII provides free access to legal information
>>> REFERENCE POSTS (STRONGLY RECOMMENDED):
- Forensic Document Examination (Part I), - Signatures on Norval Morrisseau artworks certified by Forensic Science, - 'A Fabulous Merry Christmas Greeting for Norval & All Canadians from Madam Justice Mary Anne Sanderson', - The Jonathan Sommer's appeal on behalf of the Plaintiff in Hatfield vs. Artworld of Sherway has failed on December 17th, 2013... (Part I), - The Jonathan Sommer's appeal on behalf of the Plaintiff in Hatfield vs. Artworld of Sherway has failed on December 17th, 2013... (Part II), The Jonathan Sommer's appeal on behalf of the Plaintiff in Hatfield vs. Artworld of Sherway has failed on December 17th, 2013... (Part III), - Downloadable Norval Morrisseau Forensic Reports (Part I), - Downloadable Norval Morrisseau Forensic Reports (Part II), - Downloadable Norval Morrisseau Forensic Reports (Part III), - Downloadable Norval Morrisseau Forensic Reports (Part IV), - Morrisseau's artwork in Auction Houses, Commercial Art Galleries & Museums Around the World, - Genuine Morrisseau paintings: Appraised, Authenticated and Forensically Analyzed... /In regards to the Genuine Norval Morrisseau paintings signed by the artist with a dry brush (DB) technique/ - Experts in Norval Morrisseau's Art (Part I) /Ref.: Mr. Joseph McLeod/ - Norval Morrisseau authenticating his artworks /In regards to the Genuine Norval Morrisseau paintings signed by the artist with a dry brush (DB) technique/, - Endorsement by Thunder Bay Art Gallery of genuine Morrisseau paintings from 1970's /In regards to the Genuine Norval Morrisseau paintings signed by the artist with a dry brush (DB) technique/, - Authenticity Statement by Mr. Goyce Kakegamic /'In regards to Genuine Norval Morrisseau paintings acquired from Collections of Mr. Rolf Schneiders and Mr. Gary Lamont/, - Statutory Declaration by Mr. Robert Scott, /' Witnessing Norval Morrisseau signing the paintings with a dry brush (DB) technique'/, - Statutory Declaration by Mr. Deiter John Voss, /' Witnessing Norval Morrisseau signing the paintings with a dry brush (DB) technique'/ - Hatfield, Margaret Lorraine vs. Child, Donna and Artworld of Sherway (Part IV) & - Pivotal Court Case Relevant to Authenticity of Norval Morrisseau Artworks.
~ As per decision of the SUPREME COURT OF CANADA (December 22, 2009), journalists and other media, including bloggers, will be protected from lawsuits if they diligently try to verify information on matters that are in the public interest (click HERE for more information and/or check NORVAL MORRISSEAU BLOG's DISCLAIMER @ the bottom of this page ). ~
