Art Dealers Accused of Rigging Appraisal

by David Hewett

"I thought we'd get a new church out of the sale. All we got was the sign."

Mother Superior Mary Bosco offered the explanation with more than a little hint of apology. She spoke in a hastily set up interview room at St. Joseph's Novitiate and Motherhouse of the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Our Savior in rural Round Top, New York, on the frigid afternoon of February 4.

The would-be nuns come to this remote order as postulants. Daily rising at 5:30 a.m. and in bed at 9:45 p.m., they remain postulants for nine months. Those taking the next step become novitiates, requiring the wearing of the black habit and white veil and living within the motherhouse for two more years. Then they take their final vows and prepare for life as sisters serving the needs of the order, which besides a school on Long Island has a convent attached to St. Anne's Church and Academy at White Bear Lake, Minnesota, where eight sisters teach grades one through eight.

The novitiate and motherhouse are on Hearts Content Road in Round Top, a small place on the fringe of the Catskill Borscht Belt.

Round Top, the nearby town of Cairo, and many of the surrounding homes found along the deeply rutted blacktop and gravel roads leading off Routes 23 and 32 are lonely, hard places with sharp edges in early February. This is a place where every third pickup truck wears a well-used Fisher plow on its nose, and men in checkered woolen jackets openly burn garbage a few yards from an un-mobile mobile home on cement blocks.

The lakes are frozen flat pastures in winter, many of them circled with white-painted cottages wearing neatly black-lettered Hebrew identities. This area is but a way-stop on the road to the playgrounds of the wealthy; although there are no Grossinger's, Kutsher's Hotel, or Concord here. There's no ketchup pump at the self-service counter at the small local McDonald's either. You can request a single packet at a time. "Too many people take it home when it's left out," a man at a nearby table offered with a knowing smile.

Local CBS affiliate channel six news anchor Liz Bishop and a cameraman made the trek down from Albany and arranged the February 4 session, where the comments from attorney Bruce Goldstone, representing St. Joseph's in a lawsuit, Bishop Clarence Kelly, and Mother Superior Bosco were recorded on videotape for a later news clip. The events leading up to that TV taping should make for a fascinating few minutes for Albany-area viewers.

The cast includes an order of singing nuns (several CDs are available) living highly regimented lives at their sequestered upstate New York novitiate; three art dealers accused of defrauding the unworldly sisters and their bishop; and their lawyer, who is asking $50 million in punitive damages.

The cause for all the activity is the amazing, indeed almost miraculous, discovery that a badly damaged painting given to the order was a long-lost original masterpiece by William Adolphe Bouguereau, painted in 1889, and that it was being offered by an art dealer in Dallas, Texas, in early February for $4.8 million.

St. Joseph's Chapel and Convent was founded by Father Clarence Kelly (now Bishop Kelly) in 1984 on 14 acres of land. By the time the 20th century turned into the 21st, the number of postulants had grown considerably. It was a most-welcomed occurrence, but it brought with it the fact that the sisters were fast outgrowing their motherhouse.

Mother Superior Bosco, a perfectly charming little spark plug of a woman, put it this way: "We needed to expand. We're crowded here. Fifty-five of us are too many to even fit into the choir loft. We have seventy-five acres here now. We cleared the land expecting we'd be able to build, but all we could put up was the sign."

The reason they expected to build but were able to afford only a sign is at the heart of the lawsuit attorney Bruce Goldstone filed for them on August 8, 2008, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Albany.

The order, Daughters of Mary, Mother of Our Savior, and St. Joseph Chapel, Inc., charged that Albany art dealer Mark LaSalle made a false appraisal of a painting, which belonged to the religious orders, breached his contract and warranties, and made false and fraudulent statements to the orders, and that Mark Zaplin worked in concert with Mark LaSalle, and "perpetrated fraud" against the orders.

There are other allegations against the two Marks, including violation of business and penal law, but they all stem from the manner in which the sisters sold what Mother Superior Bosco called "my million-dollar mistake."

The story rightly begins with a description of how the order acquired the painting. Mother Superior Bosco said, "We have a school in Long Island, Saint Pius the Fifth, and a parishioner there gave the painting to us." (Bishop Kelly added some specifics: "The church is in Oyster Bay, Long Island, and the school is in Melville. That's where the painting came into our hands. The school has a large chapel, and the donor attended Mass there.")

Mother Superior Bosco took up the tale again: "No one knew the value or anything about the painting. It really was too large to hang there. There wasn't a place big enough. [The painting with frame is 108¾" high x 71" wide and weighs over 400 pounds.] Each year, each class chooses an artist to study, and one sister's class had chosen Bouguereau. The sister had done a lot of research and came to me and told me, 'Mother, I think this is an original.' I was skeptical. The sister sent a photograph to the Cleveland Museum of Art. They replied that they couldn't tell from just a picture.

"After that, the painting was brought here [to Round Top]. The sister whose class had been studying Bouguereau had studied his signature. She pointed out that she could see a few letters at the bottom of the painting and said that it could be his signature, but I said I didn't think it said Bouguereau.

"The 'persistent sister' kept looking at the painting. Somehow it was noticed that there was something attached to the back of the picture. We had to get some workmen in to take the painting down to get at it so we could see what was taped to the back. The document was folded up. It was a certificate stating that it had been exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893.

"I had to apologize to Sister then. Once that was seen, the question was, what to do from here? We were in need of money-we're very crowded here and hoped to expand. My thought was that maybe this is what God provided us to do it."

Neither Mother Superior Bosco nor Bishop Kelly can remember exactly how Albany art dealer Mark LaSalle was first approached. Bishop Kelly thought possibly his name was chosen from a phone book, but he wasn't sure about that.

Mark LaSalle, whose business, Mark LaSalle Fine Art in Albany's Stuyvesant Plaza, is open by appointment only, came out to Round Top and looked at the painting. The mother superior said he told them maybe they could get $150,000 to $250,000 for it, after he determined that it was original. He recommended that it be restored.

Bishop Kelly said, "He suggested that it be taken to Clark Art Institute for restoration. It had been exposed to a fire and been overpainted several times. It was ugly, to me, at least, in its present condition. After we spent fourteen thousand dollars on the restoration, Mark LaSalle said that we could now probably get the high end of the $150,000 to $250,000 estimate."

The restoration was done by Tom Branchick, chief paintings conservator of the Williamstown Art Conservation Center. The May 2007 issue of Art Conservator contains an interview with Branchick, "A Bouguereau Resurrection," in which he discussed the problems encountered with the painting.

Mother Superior Bosco explained why they took the avenue they finally did. She said, "The bishop questioned that amount. He had found that some works by Bouguereau had sold for much more. Mark LaSalle told him that religious-themed paintings didn't bring as much."

Asked if anyone had considered selling at auction, the bishop told us, "I brought that up with Mark [LaSalle], and he said we didn't want to go down that route. He said an auction house would take at least twenty percent of the sale price. He pushed for a private sale."

According to the suit filed on August 8, 2008, Mark LaSalle on August 6, 2004, gave the Daughters of Mary and St. Joseph's Chapel a verbal and written estimate of the unrestored painting by Bouguereau "as having a fair market value of $150,000 to $250,000." Then on February 9, 2006, "on completion of the restoration, Defendant Mark LaSalle, pursuant to his agreement with [the orders], provided an oral appraisal of the Painting as having a fair market value of $350,000 to $450,000."

In a letter to Sister Mary Xavier, F.M., at the novitiate, written on September 6, 2004, LaSalle wrote: "I don't feel that I can charge the sisters for the appraisal of such a work, however, in exchange for the appraisal, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I would ask that you include [daughter's name withheld] and I in one of your prayers. That would be sufficient remuneration."

On February 9, 2006, LaSalle told the mother superior and bishop that he had located a potential buyer, art dealer Mark Zaplin of Zaplin-Lampert Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, who was willing to pay $350,000 for the painting. When the bishop, moved by the appearance of the restored masterpiece ("It is so absolutely beautiful"), and toying with the idea of keeping the painting at the novitiate, made that suggestion verbally, "LaSalle upped the offer to four hundred fifty thousand dollars," the bishop said.

Both Bishop Kelly and Mother Superior Bosco said that they were more than a bit taken aback by the sudden jump in the offer. The clerics decided to pause and consider the matter. They took six months to do just that, and on August 4, 2006, they sold the Bouguereau to Mark Zaplin for $450,000. "The bishop wasn't sure about selling it," Mother Superior Bosco said, "but I pushed for it. I can now only call it my million-dollar mistake."

And there the matter rested. The order had the money, which was being steadily eaten up by expenses ("We cleared the land, but there is nowhere near enough money for a church," Mother Superior Bosco said in early February), and, as for the painting, they had one large colored image. They had taken the step of having it copyrighted while they still owned it, Bishop Kelly said.

Matters might have remained calm, orderly, and peaceful at the novitiate, if not for an e-mail message sent to the Web site (www.daughtersofmary.net) on the afternoon of January 24, 2008, at 5:12 p.m. to be precise. It had an electrifying effect. It purported to come from <benjamin.doller@ sothebys.com>.

This is that message, in full:

"The word on the street is that the painting you all sold by William Adolph Bouguereau was the subject of a crooked apprasal [sic] job by Mark Lasalle. When he told you it was worth $400,000 to $500,000 he was holding in his hands a Sothebys [sic] appraisal for $1.8 to $2.2 million. He got another dealer (Mark Zaplin) to put up the money to avoid a conflict of interest, and the two just sold the painting through Brian Roughton for over $2 million. Bishop Kelley was right the painting should have been sent to auction, then the nuns wouldn't have been defrauded by the Lasalle/Zaplin combo."

Benjamin Doller is Sotheby's 20th-century British art specialist. He has been involved in the sale of many important collections and served as guest auctioneer at several charity affairs. He is a member of the advisory board of the organization God's Love We Deliver, which provides meals to the needy. He is a member of Sotheby's team, as Sotheby's Diana Phillips confirmed in February.

He certainly delivered a surprise to the people at the Round Top enclave.

(To add a bit of mystery to an already intriguing story, Sotheby's stated that Benjamin Doller did not send the e-mail, and further said his computer was not used to send the alarming message. When Sotheby's Diana Phillips was asked if the part of the message stating that Mark Zaplin "was holding a Sotheby's appraisal for $1.8 to $2.2 million" at the time of the appraisal was correct, she answered, "That is not correct.")

The stunned Mother Superior Bosco and Bishop Kelly were forced to face the alarming allegation, and they came to believe it true. "Yes, I forgive him," Mother Superior Bosco answered to a question posed by interviewer Liz Bishop, "but I can't forgive what he did."

Bishop Kelly said, "Mark LaSalle was very good. He was the consummate con man. He created this image that he had a huge collection of wonderful paintings. The impression given, and taken, was that he was in it for the love of art. He told us, on two occasions, that he'd had Sotheby's looking at it. He charged no fee for his appraisal. He even brought his daughter when he came to visit and left her with the sisters. He said he was rich and had a collection of paintings. He made a point of mentioning how many paintings he owned, how rich he was. Several times he made contributions to the sisters for their work."

"I'm not naïve," the bishop said, "but when someone is an expert in that kind of deception, well, he was good."

Bishop Kelly calls Mark LaSalle a "consummate con man." LaSalle's attorney has a different opinion. Attorney David Sleasman said, "Mark LaSalle has a reputation of the highest order. I am amazed at some of the allegations made about him that have damaged that reputation.

"I can assure you that we will mount a vigorous defense for the various allegations made," Sleasman said.

The arrival of the Benjamin Doller e-mail triggered the beginning of the lawsuit and gave much credence to the next document that plays a major part in the proceedings.

At this point, the attorney for St. Joseph's Novitiate, Bruce Goldstone, is being close-mouthed about how an affidavit filed with his suit was obtained, so we are left with the bare statements contained in it, but it is a devastating three pages of testimony. It comes from a man named Paul Dumont, who lives in Staatsburg in Dutchess County, New York. We'll let him tell his tale.

"I am a professional art dealer and have known Mark R. Zaplin and Mark LaSalle for many years. My relationship with them has been both professional and social. In August of 2004 I was contacted by Mark LaSalle in reference to a painting entitled Notre Dame Ange, by William Adolphe Bouguereau. He advised me that he had been approached by the Sisters of St. Joseph Chapel, Inc., to give them an appraisal for the above mentioned Bougureau [sic] painting.

"The painting was in need of restoration, but in the condition he first saw it he gave them an appraisal of $150,000, although he told me that at that time a true pre-restoration appraisal would be between $700,000 and $800,000."

And later, "In December of 2005 or January of 2006, when the restoration was almost completed he valued the painting in a finished condition at well over one million dollars, an appraisal in which I concurred. Mr. LaSalle said we could 'screw' the Sisters and make a handsome profit by giving the Sisters a low appraisal value of between $350,000 and $450,000 and presenting a buyer who would pay the amount of our deliberate and intentionally inaccurate appraisal.

"My part was to produce a 'money man,' who would act as a 'straw' buyer. The plan was to then immediately flip the painting for a huge profit. The main portion of the profit was to be split between LaSalle and the 'money man.' I contacted Mark R. Zaplin and advised him of the painting and the plan. Mr. Zaplin agreed to supply the money for the purchase and act as the 'straw' buyer."

And later, "When the Sisters delayed in giving an answer, LaSalle, Zaplin and myself agreed, so as not to lose the sale, that we should send them a check for $450,000. [Note that Dumont's version of the time frame of these events does not completely agree with those of the mother superior or the bishop, perhaps because they happened over three years ago.]

"LaSalle had already confided in me that representatives from Sotheby's had valued the painting at between $1,500,000 and $1,800,000. The transaction was consummated with Zaplin acting as the buyer for $450,000. Almost immediately the painting was resold for over two million dollars," Paul Dumont stated in his affidavit.

There is more, but the affidavit appears to have handed a proverbial "smoking gun" to any attorney looking for comments from an alleged "third-party co-conspirator," which is how attorney Bruce Goldstone described Paul Dumont in his December 3, 2008, "Affirmation in Opposition" to motions made by LaSalle and Zaplin to dismiss the complaint.

Attorney Goldstone gave up one tantalizing clue. "When this is all over," he said, "I think Paul Dumont will be viewed as a hero." Thomas Chase, the attorney representing Mark Zaplin, doesn't see it quite that way.

He said this about the allegations (from his preliminary statement of October 16, 2008, filed in support of a motion to dismiss the complaint): "The Complaint's incendiary allegations, however, do not withstand scrutiny. The claims for breach of fiduciary duty are unsubstantiated. The Chapel alleges only two specific communications with Mr. LaSalle over a two year period and alleges no communications with Mr. Zaplin. The Purchase Agreement memorializing the sale of the painting, moreover, listed Mr. LaSalle as the buyer and disclosed that Mr. LaSalle was acting on behalf of Mr. Zaplin, not the Chapel."

Attorney Chase summed up his reply affirmation to the court on January 8 regarding Mark Zaplin's part in the sale: "To permit the Chapel to proceed with its claims against Mr. Zaplin would subject virtually every profitable art transaction in the State of New York to expansive judicial review. Such an application of the law would both chill New York's commercially important art market and reduce a seller's incentive to conduct proper and careful due diligence concerning the value of a work of art prior to its sale. Mr. Zaplin, accordingly, respectfully requests that the Court dismiss the Complaint in its entirety."

Where is the painting today?

Brian Roughton of the Roughton Galleries, Dallas, Texas, owned it in early February. He bought it from Mark Zaplin and is aware of the lawsuit. Roughton said that when he bought it he had to agree not to advertise it then, "because of sensitivity for the original seller's feelings." He has been approached by a major museum about purchasing it.

It has been at the Dallas Museum of Art during the past two years. "They had to take it down because of a major show they were mounting, and rather than have it stored in their basement I had it come here to my home," Roughton said. "It's a very big painting, and I didn't have room in the shop to show it properly. It also is very heavy; it weighs over four hundred pounds.

"I saw photos of it before it was cleaned and thought it was a crapshoot. If it didn't clean up successfully, it was worthless. Luckily, they took it to one of the top men in the country to do the restoration, and now it's beautiful."

About the controversy, Roughton said, "I don't have any problem with Mark Zaplin selling it to me. It was a straight legal purchase, but as for the conduct of the other Mark, Mark LaSalle, if he did in fact go to the nuns as an appraiser and was hired for that, then gave them a bad appraisal in order to get it, then that's unethical behavior for any art dealer to do, and I condemn it."

Attorney Tom Chase, who represents Mark Zaplin, said, "We think the claims against Mark Zaplin are absolutely without merit. He had no part in the events that led up to the purchase. It was a full two years between the discovery of the painting and the time they actually sold it. They could have sought any advice they needed about the value of the painting during that time."

Brian Roughton told M.A.D., "I'm asking $4.8 million for it and don't necessarily want to sell it. My wife asks, 'You just got it back and now want to sell it?' I think it's magnificent and wouldn't mind owning it permanently."

Apparently, that won't happen. According to a February 19 story in the New York Post, the painting has sold for more than $5 million.

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