The collector bought Chagallʼs work for $90,000 in 1994. The picture was recognized as a fake only now and they want to destroy it

Collector Stephanie Clegg bought a Marc Chagall painting for $90,000 at a Sothebyʼs auction in 1994, just nine years after the artistʼs death. Now this work has been recognized as a forgery and they want to destroy it, and the woman is suing the auction house.

The New York Times writes about it.

Two years ago, when she wanted to sell works from her collection, Sothebyʼs informed her that the painting must be sent to France, where a group of experts will check it for authenticity.

Clegg agreed because in 2008 this watercolor was already inspected and valued at $100,000. But this time, an expert group in Paris recognized her Chagall as a forgery, and the artistʼs heirs began to demand the arrest of the painting and its destruction.

When she complained to Sothebyʼs, the auction house said its guarantee of authenticity was only valid for a limited time.

The auction offered her a credit in the amount of $18.5 thousand to compensate Sothebyʼs commission if the woman decides to sell other works from her collection in the future, but Stephanie Clegg demands to pay her compensation — $175 thousand.

"I trusted them all these years. They were supposed to be authoritative experts, and I relied on their experience," says the collector.

But the auction house says there is no legal basis for compensation and that the discount it is offering on future sales corresponds to the royalties Sothebyʼs earned from the 1994 sale of the painting.