Monday, January 11, 2010

The Street of Fashion

Sean was the Madison Avenue Bandit. They even had his picture posted on pole in areas that had expensive antique stores. They even drew a small mask around his eyes. "I hate that poster. My mother saw it and I was very embarrassed. Just because I only went to the eigth grade in school doesn't mean I don't know about fine art. I can tell a fake, a reproduction, or a damaged piece in seconds. Sometimes a piece of fine crystal has been sitting in the sun too long. If you know what you are looking for, you see that the streaks are permanent. They won't come out.

I know which marks an artist uses and I can tell if someone is trying to pass some mark as if it is real. I can tell you what date silver was made and what it's worth. I can tell an original from a copy. I know about brush strokes and pigment. I could appraise a painting for other people but I don't deal in paintings too much myself. Painting is fragile and I would never hurt a fine work of art.

I was a consultant to other people. They would ask me what I thought they could get for it. Look, we aren't talking about people who are going to sell things at Christy's or Sotheby's. The people who brought things to me wanted to know what they could expect from our client/buyers. People bring me stuff. I know who will buy it and not ask questions. I used to hang around the diamond district. People knew where to find me. They knew I was an expert just like the diamond merchants. I was in good company...the company of experts. Sure I can talk to you. I am doing my time. I am out of business."

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