What do Kevin Hearn and John McDermott have in common?

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HEARN vs. MASLAK McLEOD GALLERY &
McDERMOTT vs. MASLAK McLEOD GALLERY

~ Plaintiff's legal counsel in both court cases is Mr. Jonathan Sommer

IN PROGRESS! (Last updated on November 1st, 2014) 
"Famed tenor drops suit alleging art dealer sold him fake Morrisseau paintings" by James Adams /Originally published on October 31st, 2014)

Kevin Hearn                 John McDermott

~ The Plaintiffs' legal counsel, Mr. Jonathan Sommer, represented the Plaintiff in a recent court case Hatfield, Margaret Lorraine vs. Child, Donna and Artworld of Sherway. This court case concluded with devastating consequences for the Plaintiff Ms. Margaret Hatfield of Sarnia, Ontario costing her more than $40,000 of her retirement money (click HERE for this landmark court decision* confirming the authenticity of thousands of Norval  Morrisseau paintings). 

* - the Plaintiff's only witnesses in this related court case were Mr. Donald Robinson of Kinsman Robinson Galleries and Mr. Ritchie Sinclair. Both, Mr. Robinson and Mr. Sinclair were discredited by the Paul J. Martial's judgement on April 2nd, 2013 (click HERE).

Who is Mr. Kevin Hearn ('Plaintiff') - a keyboardist:

> An art collector who falsely accused Mr. Joseph McLeod that his genuine Norval Morrisseau painting, purchased from Maslak McLeod Gallery, was a forgery.

Who is Mr. John McDermott ('Plaintiff') - a singer:

> Another art collector who falsely accused Mr. Joseph McLeod that his genuine Norval Morrisseau paintings, purchased from Maslak McLeod Gallery, were forgeries.

>>> Both, Mr. Hearn's and Mr. McDermott's opinions about autheniticity of their genuine Norval Morrisseau paintings came from no one else than Mr. Ritchie Sinclair of Toronto, Ontario - owner and operator of a notorious malicious website that claims that over 1,000 Morrisseau paintings - 99% of which he has never seen in person - are FORGERIES.

In one of his web posts, of October 23th, 2008, Mr. Sinclair candidly admitted as much, saying he was posting the images only “for inspiration and enjoyment.”

He stated further that, "With the exception of paintings that I witnessed painted or exhibited by Morrisseau I have no way of discerning whether the images shown here are all authentic Morrisseau originals." (click HERE).

"His (Ritchie Sinclair's) methodology in identifying forgeries is clearly inadequate and suspect since he testified that he does not even view the original paintings before condemning them as fakes." (Judgment by Judge Paul J Martial: March 25th, 2013 - Page 16; "Hatfield vs. Artworld of Sherway" /Court File No. SC-09-087264-0000/)

Note: Mr. Ritchie Sinclair did not just label genuine Morrisseau paintings as forgeries... he had also labeled genuine Norval Morrisseau limited edition prints as "Inferior Prints" (click HERE).

ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT NOTE: Mr. Sinclair allegedly states that his website "brings the important issue of Morrisseau forgery proliferation into the public spotlight."

It is obvious that Mr. Sinclair is not interested at all in protecting his mentor's legacy as he continues to ignore the conclusive findings of the three top internationally recognized Forensic Document Examiners and Handwriting Experts from Ottawa, Toronto and Calgary (click HERE).

~ At least 40 paintings, certified by forensic science [2], continue to be maliciously labeled as FORGERIES on Mr. Sinclair's notorious malicious website... For .PDF screen grabs click 1. HERE, 2. HERE, 3. HERE, 4. HERE, 5. HERE, 6. HERE, 7. HERE, 8. HERE, 9. HERE, 10. HERE, 11. HERE, 12. HERE, 13. HERE, 14. HERE, 15. HERE, 16. HERE, 17. HERE, 18. HERE, 19. HERE, 20. HERE, 21. HERE, 22. HERE & 23. HERE.

[2] - The above presented genuine Norval Morrisseau artworks were examined and certified by the following Forensic Document Examiners and Handwriting Experts: Mr. Brian Lindblom of 'The Document Examination Consultants Inc.' (Ottawa, Ontario), Dr. Atul K. Singla of Worldwide Forensic Services Inc. (Toronto, Ontario) &  Mr. Kenneth J. Davies of 'Hawkeye Studios (Grapho-Lab® Services)' (Calgary, Alberta). 

>> Other individuals, associated with Mr. Sinclair, who influenced Plaintiff's decision in HEARN vs. MASLAK McLEOD GALLERY were Mr. Mark Anthony Jacobson a.k.a. PEY-SIM-AWAY-APEY-BINASI, artist from Vancouver BC and Mr. Bryant Ross, director of Coghlan Art Studio & Gallery in Aldergrove BC.

More information to follow...  


~ Both of the Plaintiffs, Mr. Kevin Hearn and Mr. John McDermott, sued Maslak McLeod Gallery for purchasing genuine Norval Morrisseau's artworks which they allege to be forgeries.

Their actions towards the most prominent expert in Norval Morrisseau's art, Mr. Joseph McLeod, could have been viewed as their (un)knowing and apparently misguided attempt to damage the Legacy of the Canadian National Treasure - Norval Morrisseau a.k.a. Copper Thunderbird.

They are surely musical celebrities known in Canada and internationally, but when it comes to their place in Canadian history they will always be remembered as uninformed, misguided and uneducated art collectors.
  

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



Joseph McLeod

> 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 recent 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 of Maslak McLeod Gallery:

“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)

"His (Ritchie Sinclair's) methodology in identifying forgeries is clearly inadequate and suspect since he testified that he does not even view the original paintings before condemning them as fakes." (Judgment by Judge Paul J Martial: March 25th, 2013 - Page 16)

"Mr. Robinson (of Kinsman Robinson Galleries) 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. (Judgment by Judge Paul J Martial: March 25th, 2013 - Page 37)

"Dr. Singla's forensic evidence is preferred in this regard and his finding that it is highly probable that the painting "Wheel of Life" was painted by Norval Morrisseau was supported by his detailed technical analysis of known signatures of' Norval Morrisseau. (Judgment by Judge Paul J Martial: March 25th, 2013 - Page 37)

"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)

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IMPORTANT NOTE:

After three years of investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Thunder Bay Police Service and after six court cases over the period of seven years nobody has ever been successful in pointing out one case where it was proven that someone made, sold, distributed or even marketed one "fake" Norval Morrisseau painting.

1.1 - Otavnik vs. Vadas SC 07-51428-00,
2.1 - Michael Moniz vs. CTV Globemedia Publishing Inc.,
3.1 - Drs. Browne and Witmer vs. Bearclaw Gallery,
4.1 - Otavnik vs. Sinclair SC 09-00082782-0000,
4.2 - CASE SUMMARY: Otavnik vs. Sinclair SC 09-00082782-0000,
5.1 - Hatfield  vs. Child SC-09-087264-0000 &
6.1.- Kinsman Robinson Galleries vs. Ugo Matulic CV-10-417123.

~ In all of these court cases Forensic science have been used proving that paintings in question were signed by Norval Morrisseau and nobody else (click HERE).

Ugo Matulić a.k.a. Spirit Walker

References: 

~ Jonathan Sommer's court case (representing Mr. Kevin Hearn) which came with false allegations about Mr. Joseph McLeod's integrity as a Norval Morrisseau expert: Maslak McLeod Gallery sued for selling a genuine Norval Morrisseau painting to Kevin Hearn - Band member of the Barenaked Ladies.

~ Another Jonathan Sommer's court case (representing Mr. John McDermott) which also came with false allegations about Mr. Joseph McLeod's integrity as a Norval Morrisseau expert:- written by James Adams: ‘Fraud ring’ produced fake Morrisseau paintings, claim alleges (Globe & Mail) &


"NONE OF ALLEGATIONS FROM THE STATEMENTS OF CLAIM BY MR. KEVIN HEARN AND MR. McDERMOTT HAVE BEEN PROVEN IN COURT"


>>> Other References:

- Forensic Document Examination (Part I), - Experts in Norval Morrisseau's Art (Part I) /Ref.: Mr. Joseph McLeod/, - "Norval Morrisseau: The Development of the Woodland School of Art", 2002, - Genuine Morrisseau paintings: Appraised, Authenticated and Forensically Analyzed...,  - Norval Morrisseau authenticating his artworks, - Endorsement by Thunder Bay Art Gallery of genuine Morrisseau paintings from 1970's, - Authenticity Statement by Mr. Goyce Kakegamic, - Statutory Declaration by Mr. Robert Scott, - Statutory Declaration by Mr. Deiter John Voss, - Norval Morrisseau Declarations Are A Hoax /Michele and Gabor Vadas Exposed/ (Part I), - Norval Morrisseau Declarations Are A Hoax /Michele and Gabor Vadas Exposed/ (Part II), - Ugo Matulic wins $1,000,000 SLAPP suit against Kinsman Robinson Galleries (Part I), - 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) & - Hatfield, Margaret Lorraine vs. Child, Donna and Artworld of Sherway (Part IV).
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