From: Mary Gordon <mgordon@parkwestgallery.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 10:14 PM
To: Brian Falk
Cc: Morris Shapiro <MShapiro@parkwestgallery.com>
Subject: Letter from Gallery Director

Dear Mr. Falk,
Attached is a letter from our Gallery Director in response to your email.
Mary Gordon

From: Brian Falk
Sent: Thu 10/30/2008 2:25 PM
To: Mary Gordon <mgordon@parkwestgallery.com>
Subject: Re: Letter from Gallery Director

Dear Mrs. Gordon & Mr. Shapiro

Thank you for sending me an answer to my complaint.

Obviously there's a lot of confusion in this case. I get different information from Mr. Shapiro, Mr. Smith and the appraisal signed by Mr. Scaglione. Let me mention just a couple:

    1.     Mr. Shapiro: you now write to me, that there's 15 "Filius Prodigus" pieces which are hand-signed by Mr. Dali. However the appraisal I have and emails I then received from Mr. Smith clearly states, that my piece is "One of 9 examples hand-signed by Dali". This is also the condition to which I originally bought the picture. Obviously the piece would be less valuable to me, had I then known there were 15 and not 9 signed examples.

    2.     Mr. Shapiro: you now write to me, that the number "5" stamped on the back only applies to the loose sheets. I'm in possession of emails from Mr. Smith (among others dated April 28th 2005) where he among other things send me a document signed by Dali stating, that his signature is genuine and this is proved with the number "5" stamped on the back of the piece. Asked directly Mr. Smith stated: "Both of these works are included in the collection I sent you the documentation on". Furthermore he states that the number "5" is a red, stamp, although it is black.

Dear Mr. Shapiro and Mrs. Gordon. Maybe you would explain some of the above with mistakes - personally I don't mind, what you choose to call it. However in my opinion this case is now so full of miscues, misunderstandings and so on, that I think it would be appropriate for Park West Gallery to simply just say: "There has been mistakes in this case, and of course this should benefit our customer". I suggest we resolve this matter, with you just buying the piece back. This would conclude the case from my point of view.

I look forward to you getting back to me as soon as possible with your proposal.
Kind regards,
Brian Falk

Subject: From Mr. Shapiro.
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2008 13:40:08 -0500
From: mgordon@parkwestgallery.com
To: Brian Falk

Mr. Falk:

As I attempted to explain to you previously, the "Filius prodigus" image was only available in complete sets of the Bible, hand-signed by Dali. The other image, "Ipse erat Elias" includes the 15 examples from the complete sets and an additional 95 examples with various annotations. Thus, 110 hand-signed examples exist of this image. Consequently the rarity of "Filius..." is significantly greater than of "Ipse..." even considering the existence of 15 as opposed to 9.

Dali executed certificates of authenticity for both the complete sets and the loose sheets. The loose sheet certificates identify the "5" stamps on the versos, but makes no mention of the color of the stamps.

Park West is fully confident of the authenticity of the Dali work and the hand-signature on "Filius prodigus." I hope this information clears up any confusion you might have experienced.

Morris Shapiro

From: Brian Falk
To: mgordon@parkwestgallery.com
Subject: RE: From Mr. Shapiro.
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2008 20:20:32 +0100

Mr. Shapiro,

There's no need to repeat your explanations. I understood them quite well. I was just pointing out some of the mistakes made by Park West Gallery. It is unacceptable that you try to make the fact that there are 15 examples and not 9 insignificant. Based on this fact alone, I will not accept any other solution than Park West Gallery returning the full amount paid by me. You have sold me a piece of art based on false foundation. That's indisputable.

If you're so confident of the authenticity I suggest, that the piece be examined by an independent individual chosen by me. Either the Dali Archives in New York or the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. Furthermore I've made appointment with the Danish National Museum of Art, who will examine the piece next week concerning the printing technology used. You did tell me, this is an "original lithograph".

Again, the only acceptable solution is the full return of the money paid. This has got to be arranged without further delay, and I expect to receive your plan for this arrangement immediately.

I've made arrangements to start a suit against Park West Gallery based on among others the above mentioned, and it is ready to be sent. This will be attached to a major complaint filed with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. I cannot accept any more beating about the bush. These actions will be taken without further delay, should you choose not to meet my demand.

Brian Falk