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CBC
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Sued for $1.45M by Calgary art gallery, Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. denies all claims
Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. is denying claims it defamed and breached a contract with an Alberta art gallery by implying its works could be fakes. In March, EA Studios (Jasper) Ltd., which operates out of Calgary, launched a lawsuit against Norval Morrisseau Estate alleging defamation and breach of contract. The claim was filed in Alberta's Superior Trial Court. Cory Dingle says he is the executive director of Morrisseau's estate. He has spoken out to media outlets, including CBC, about the profuse fraud of the late artist's work. The art market has been flooded with thousands of works falsely attributed to Morrisseau since the late 1990s, making it difficult to authenticate and sell his paintings. Considered by many to be the Mishomis, or grandfather, of contemporary Indigenous art in Canada, he was from Ojibway Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation in northwestern Ontario and died in Toronto in 2007 at age 75. EA Studios gallery claims it had an agreement with Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd., represented by Dingle. The agreement included a requirement for EA Studios to promote Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. as the definitive source for authenticating Morrisseau's works, says the gallery in its lawsuit. Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. would reassure potential customers that the paintings they wanted to buy were authentic Morrisseau creations, and Dingle would get 10 per cent of any successful sale to clients he referred to the gallery, according to the statement of claim. The lawsuit claims Dingle did the exact opposite. Instead, it claims, Dingle implied EA Studios' Morrisseau paintings may be fakes, and suggested they purchase authentic works directly from himself and/or Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. None of the allegations have been proven in court. In a statement of defence filed May 20, Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. said it never made this agreement with the gallery. "As there was no agreement between [the] plaintiff and the defendants, no breach of any contract or agreement as alleged can or did occur," said the statement. It also denied Dingle knew the paintings in EA Studios' inventory were authentic or received directly from Morrisseau during his lifetime, contrary to the plaintiff's allegations. Gallery says it hired investigators to pose as buyers EA Studios is also suing Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. for defamation. The art gallery claims Dingle's statements to potential buyers implied the gallery "is, generally, an unethical organization of low moral character that sells inferior and possibly fake artworks that were obtained through an abusive, and possibly criminal, exploitation of a vulnerable Indigenous artist," according to the claim. According to the gallery, Dingle also claimed that he was the only source for purchasing authentic Morrisseau paintings, and that only he and the estate had a reliable catalogue of genuine works, the lawsuit alleges. EA studios said it hired two private investigators in October 2024 to pose as potential buyers interested in paintings in its inventory after becoming suspicious that Dingle was not holding up his end of the deal. It claims the private investigators had two calls with Dingle during which he made defamatory statements that undermined the gallery's credibility and reputation. Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. claims that Dingle spoke little or nothing about the gallery in October 2024, according to the written statement of defence. It also says Dingle didn't say anything defamatory to the private investigators posing as buyers. "In the event that Dingle provided defamatory statements to the private investigators, which is not admitted but specifically denied, the defendants state that there were no damages (economic or reputational) suffered by the plaintiff, as any such private investigators were not in the market to purchase a Morrisseau painting from the plaintiff," reads the statement. WATCH | in 2023, Cory Dingle said there are Canada has become a fake art 'dumping ground': 2 years ago Duration 0:59 EA Studios also argues Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. defamed it in a social media post that said "'the only authorized, legal prints of Norval's work on the market are those sold by the alleged estate.'" The gallery said this statement "implied that the many authentic prints being sold by the plaintiff, and others, are fraudulent." Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. counters that this was not defamation because it did not directly identify the gallery in its post. "As the estate holds the right of reproduction over all of Morrisseau's artwork, there can be nothing in the social media post which is even implicitly defamatory." Estate assets not all distributed: defence claim In its defence statement, Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. describes itself as "a corporation incorporated under the laws of British Columbia in order to more efficiently manage transactions on behalf of Morrisseau's estate." The assets of Morrisseau's estate have not been fully distributed yet, it says. Dingle was appointed as an agent of the estate by Gabor Vadas, a longtime friend of the artist, and Morrisseau's children, says the statement. "Dingle is also authorized to act on behalf of the estate in relation to certain business and operational matters." Corporate records show Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. has a registered office in Vancouver. The listed directors are Morrisseau's daughter, Lisa, and Vadas, who was adopted by Morrisseau in accordance with the artist's shamanistic traditions. Vadas was the executor and sole beneficiary of Morrisseau's will. The estate was later divided between Vadas and Morrisseau's children in an out-of-court settlement. "From Norval's death on, Vadas did very little, and nothing effective, to stop the production and circulation of the fraudulent works," says EA Studios in the statement of claim.
CBC
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Calgary gallery sues Norval Morrisseau Estate for $1.45M
EA Studios files defamation, breach of contract claim in Alberta Superior Trial court Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. has been outspoken against the profuse fraud of the late artist's work. Now, it faces a $1.45 million lawsuit claiming it defamed an art gallery by implying its works could be fakes. Cory Dingle has spoken out against art fraud to multiple media outlets, including CBC, as Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd.'s executive director. He's now being sued alongside Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. for defamation and breach of contract by a Calgary art gallery, a lawsuit filed in Alberta's Superior Trial Court on March 11 claims. EA Studios claims that Dingle's statements to potential buyers implied the gallery "is, generally, an unethical organization of low moral character that sells inferior and possibly fake artworks that were obtained through an abusive, and possibly criminal, exploitation of a vulnerable Indigenous artist," according to the claim. None of the claims have been proven or tested in court. "The Estate looks forward to defending itself against these allegations and due to the ongoing litigation we do not have any further comments at this time," said Dingle in an email to CBC. Art gallery claims breach of contract, defamation As a prolific artist who did not keep records of his works, Morrisseau's catalogue has become a popular target for fraud and forgeries. The lawsuit claims EA Studios (Jasper) Ltd. gallery had an agreement with Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd., represented by Dingle. Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. would reassure potential customers that the painting they wanted to buy was an authentic Morrisseau, and Dingle would get 10 per cent of any successful sale to clients he referred to the gallery, according to the statement of claim. The lawsuit claims Dingle did the exact opposite. Instead, it claims Dingle implied EA Studios' Morrisseau paintings may be fakes, and suggested they purchase authentic works directly from himself and/or Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. "Specifically, Dingle and/or the alleged estate failed to reassure the plaintiff's potential clients of the value and authenticity of the plaintiff's works, and instead falsely disparaged the plaintiff and then tried to, or did, convince said potential clients to purchase works from Dingle and/or the alleged estate," says the claim. The documents claim the gallery hired two private investigators in October 2024 to pose as potential buyers interested in paintings in its inventory after becoming suspicious that Dingle was not holding up his end of the deal. EA Studios claims the private investigators had two calls with Dingle, during which he made defamatory statements that undermined the gallery's credibility and reputation. EA Studios claims it has owned and sold Morrisseau's work since the 1980s. The gallery's founder had "a long-standing friendship and positive business relationship" with the late artist, the court documents say. It argues that Dingle's and/or Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd.'s statements to potential buyers implied the gallery "is considered, by Norval's children, to be a scammer," and "committed a criminal act by stealing and selling Norval's personal belongings". The gallery claims the "defamatory statements" are false, undermined its reputation and cost it clients. It claims Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. made additional defamatory statements in a social media post that it is the only seller of authorized, legal prints of Morrisseau's work. Lawsuit claims Morrisseau's children supported authenticity of fraudulent works The lawsuit claims during the last years of his life, Morrisseau fought to keep fraudulent copies of his work from spreading in the market. It also claims that shareholders of Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. did little to stop the fraud. "From at least the early 2000s on, for financial gain, the adult children supported and promoted the authenticity of many of the fraudulent works and assisted, by spreading false information, in undermining efforts to expose and stop the fraud," reads the claim filed against Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. and Cory Dingle. Morrisseau's biological children sued his estate in 2010 after being excluded from his will, according to the claim. The artist from Ojibway Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation in northwestern Ontario died in 2007. He bequeathed all of his material and artistic assets to friend Gabor Vadas. The parties settled out of court, and Vadas's and Morrisseau's children divided the estate, said the court documents. The claim against Norval Morrisseau Ltd. and Cory Dingle was filed March 11, 2025. The defendants had not yet filed a statement of defence at publication time.
