>>> Maslak McLeod Gallery sued for selling a genuine Norval Morrisseau painting to Kevin Hearn - Band member of the Barenaked Ladies

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Kevin Hearn Vs. Joseph B. McLeod and Maslak McLeod Gallery Inc.
/Cour File No. CV-12-455650/

An UPDATE!

"Spirit Energy of Mother Earth",  © 1974 Norval Morrisseau
~ Click HERE to view the inscription on canvas VERSO
Provenance: Purchased from Randy Potter Estate Auctions in Pickering, Ontario; sold to Mr. Kevin Hearn by Mr. Joseph McLeod of Maslak McLeod Gallery (Toronto, Ontario) & exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) on June 11th, 2010 (click HERE)


Who is Mr. Kevin Hearn* ('Plaintiff'):

> Just another naïve and gullible proxy (collector) who has been deliberately mislead by those who had labeled thousands of genuine Norval Morrisseau paintings signed by the artist with a dry brush (DB) tecnique as forgeries. Based on recent court decision in Hatfield, Margaret Lorraine vs. Child, Donna and Artworld of Sherway I suspect Mr. Hearn is going to drop his case against Maslak McLeod Gallery very soon. 

Who is Mr. Joseph McLeod ('Defendant'):

> An art expert with a comprehensive knowledge of an artist's work who generated adequate consensus within the art community to establish the authenticity of Norval Morrisseau's works of art.

Mr. Joseph McLeod is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in Canadian 'Woodland Art' and his Maslak McLeod Gallery has built an impressive reputation in the art world for more than 30 years.

He has been a qualified expert witness for the Crown in Federal Court with respect to Norval Morrisseau's art in a pivotal Tax Court of Canada case relevant to cultural property donation program [see Zelinski, Whent, Pustina v. The Queen, (No. 92-424)].

Recently, Mr. Joseph McLeod testified in a pivotal court case relevant to authenticity of Norval Morrisseau artworks [see Hatfield, Margaret Lorraine vs. Child, Donna and Artworld of Sherway].

Mr. McLeod has also been called upon by numerous auction houses such as Sotheby's to help authenticate Norval Morrisseau artworks with his professional expertise.

Mr. McLeod was a member of Art Dealers Association of Canada (ADAC) and currently has a membership with The Canadian Association of Personal Property Appraisers (CPPA).  

>> Mr. Joseph McLeod has been instrumental in bringing Canadian Native Art to Germany, Italy, Brazil, Japan, China, France and Puerto Rico. 

 >>> Affiliations Curatorial and Appraisal Work of Joseph McLeod:

Art Dealers Association of Canada;
Canada Council for Aboriginal Buisness;
The Government of Canada;
Museum of Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay, Ontario CANADA;
Smithsonian National Museum of American Art, U.S.A.;
The Paul R. Macpherson Woodland Collection of Art,
McMaster University Museum, Hamilton, Ontario;
Sotheby's.com - Master Dealer;
Institute of American Indian Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A.;
The Pequot Museum, Conneticut, U.S.A.;
The Heard Museum, Pheonix, Arizona, U.S.A.;
Govenor's Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A.;
Volkunder Museum, Munich, GERMANY &
Exposicao de Arte Indigena, Belo Horizonte, BRAZIL.

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>>> In a court judgement "Hatfield vs. Artworld of Sherway" /Court File No. SC-09-087264-0000/ Judge Paul J. Martial stated the following about Mr. Joseph McLeod:

“He demonstrated a superior depth of knowledge of Morrisseau…”
(Judgment by Judge Paul J Martial: March 25th, 2013 - Page 25)

“The testimony of Mr. Joseph McLeod is indicative of his care and the detailed effort 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… demonstrates his depth of knowledge of the painter due to his lengthy association with the artist.”
(Judgment by Judge Paul J Martial: March 25th, 2013 - Page 35)

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BLOG MASTER'S COMMENT:

Forensic Document Examinations have been deployed numerous times on various genuine Norval Morrisseau paintings. These artworks were successfully purchased at Randy Potter Estate Auctions and at other auction houses/commercial art galleries across Canada and around the world (click HERE).

These scientific findings have proven successful at determining authenticity of the artwork authored by Norval Morrisseau's hand against publicly known signatures by Norval Morrisseau and his letters of correspondence.

I am certain that this genuine Norval Morrisseau acrylic painting on canvas will be authenticated by forensic science as well.

Forensic Document Examinations were conducted on paintings which were signed by the artist with a dry brush (DB) technique commonly found on the reverse of these genuine Norval Morrisseau artworks.

Many forensic reports and their conclusive findings have been presented on this platform. These reports were prepared by the three top internationally recognized Forensic Document Examiners and Handwriting Experts (see sidebar).

IMPORTANT NOTE: The first ever Forensic Document Examination analysis on Norval Morrisseau signature had been completed on January 24th, 2002 for Mr. Joseph McLeod of Maslak McLeod Gallery by Mr. Brian Lindblom of 'The Document Examination Consultants Inc.' (click HERE).

>>> Reference posts: 
- Pivotal Court Case Relevant to Authenticity of Norval Morrisseau Artworks & - Hatfield, Margaret Lorraine vs. Child, Donna and Artworld of Sherway (Part IV).
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