Calder’s Heirs Accuse Dealer of Fraud

Seems like the Calder estate has been busy with lawyers lately. According to the NY Times, the Calder estate is suing Klaus G. Perls, the dealer who represented Calder from 1954 until Calder’s death in 1976.

In a recently amended complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court, the Calder estate says the Perlses surreptitiously held on to hundreds of Calder’s works and swindled the artist’s estate out of tens of millions of dollars. Perhaps most surprising, it says that Perls, a dealer with a sterling reputation who campaigned to rid his industry of forgeries, sold dozens of fake Calders. The suit depicts Perls as a tax cheat who stashed millions of dollars in a Swiss bank account[.]

Tags: Art Law, Calder estate, fiduciary, gallery representation