Court rules Park Su-geun painting is not a forgery

After nearly two years of legal disputes over allegations of its authenticity, the Seoul Central District Court ruled yesterday the painting “Washing Place,” an artwork attributed to the late Korean artist Park Su-geun (1914-1965), is apparently genuine.

The court, however, overruled a defamation suit filed by the Seoul Auction House, the nation’s oldest auctioneer, against Kang Byeong-cheol and Ryu Byeong-hak, publisher and editor-in-chief of Artrade, a bimonthly art magazine that raised suspicions about the painting in its inaugural January 2008 issue.

The Seoul Auction said it will not appeal the ruling.

“John Ricks, an American collector who originally possessed the art piece, testified that he received the painting from Park as a gift while he was serving in Korea from 1954 to 1956,” presiding judge Cho Won-cheol said. “As a result of scientific examination, the painting is assumed to be the same one that is displayed in a family photo of Ricks.”

Comparing the painting to other works of Park, the techniques included in the painting are so complicated and the painting has been preserved in such a perfect way that it was reasonable to raise concerns about a forgery, said Cho.

The judge also said the auction house failed to reveal its own appraisal until the allegations surfaced. He said a defendant raised questions about the authenticity of the artwork since the auction house presented an examination result as evidence which was provided by Park’s eldest son who is not an expert.

Art experts said that it is necessary to reinforce the system of examining the authenticity of artwork. They also said not only experts in art but in other related academic sectors and the government should focus more on strengthening the examination system in order to prevent further disputes over forgeries. They said that more organizations that conduct appraisals of art have to be established other than the Korean Art Appraisal Association.

In addition, a number of experts should investigate, they said.

“Even though controversies over forgery allegations have happened repeatedly, only temporary measures have been introduced instead of long-term plans. What matters is how we cope with those problems from now on,” said art professor Choi Byung-sik at Kyung Hee University.

The Seoul Auction filed the 3 billion won ($2.5 million) libel suit against Artrade last January. The magazine later filed its own claim against auctioneers.

While the magazine insisted the painting in question is the work of another artist, Seoul Auction argued that the work was bought from an American collector who said Park gave him the painting 50 years ago. Both sides agreed to let the Seoul Central District Court undertake it own authentication process.

Ricks, 82, appeared at the court on Sept. 30 to testify regarding allegations over the authenticity of the painting.

The painting fetched 4.52 billion won during its auction in May 2007.

It was the most expensive painting ever sold in Korea.

By Lee Min-yong [smartpower@joongang.co.kr]