[MSN] A tangled artistic odyssey. Painter's suit said his works were sold as those of abstract master.

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A tangled artistic odyssey
Painter's suit said his works were sold as those of abstract master.
By Blair Anthony Robertson - Bee Staff Writer

Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 15, 2006

Henry Villierme was a largely forgotten California artist in 1990 when
he struck a deal with a Davis art gallery to sell paintings he had
made in the late 1950s and early 1960s when he was a rising star.

It was a frustrating experience almost from the beginning. For several
years Villierme would call the well-known gallery owner and ask about
his paintings, wondering if any had sold. But the owner, John
Natsoulas, kept putting him off.

In fact, it would be nearly 15 years before Villierme and his canvases
would be reunited -- and by then, some had gone through a mysterious
metamorphosis.

While they entered the John Natsoulas Gallery on First Street in Davis
as the work of Henry Villierme, they left the building and entered the
art market bearing the signature of abstract master Richard
Diebenkorn, whose works these days -- 13 years after his death --
often sell for $1 million and up.

These allegations are detailed in a 2005 lawsuit filed by Villierme, a
much-admired student of Diebenkorn's in the 1950s at the California
College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland before he dropped out of the Bay
Area art scene to take a job at a bank.

According to court records and interviews with some of those involved,
one of the paintings had been used as collateral on a loan for
Natsoulas, who at that time was completing a $1.5 million expansion of
his gallery hoping to position it as a premier art space in the
Sacramento region.

At least two of the Villierme paintings were sold as Diebenkorns, the
lawsuit alleged, and Fresno collector George Blair says he knows
directly of a third work sold.

The lawsuit accused Natsoulas of forging the Diebenkorn signatures on
the paintings. Natsoulas refused to comment, and the lawsuit was
resolved this summer with a confidential out-of-court settlement.

Diebenkorn is considered one of California's most important post-World
War II artists. He was a key member of the Bay Area figurative art
movement in the 1950s and, beginning in 1967, broke away to explore an
abstract style, mostly through his much-admired Ocean Park series, in
which he painted the view from his Santa Monica gallery hundreds of
different times.

Villierme's style apparently resembles Diebenkorn's enough that
collectors, dealers and museum staff say they accepted with little
scrutiny the pieces bearing the forged signatures.

By 2004, one of the Villierme paintings once consigned to the John
Natsoulas Gallery found its way into a new $50 book, "San Francisco
and the Second Wave," published by the Crocker Art Museum in
Sacramento and featuring the collection of Blair.

On page 222, the painting is misidentified as Diebenkorn's 1952
painting "Berkeley Road Home."

An errata, or correction, sheet tucked inside the front cover of later
copies of the book states: "Contrary to a signature, RD 52, on the
rear of the canvas, it has been established that the painting actually
was executed by Henry Villierme, another accomplished Northern
California artist. Its true title has been shown to be "Highway Study
No. 2," 1957. ... The purchase and the controversy resulting therefrom
are truly regrettable."

According to the lawsuit, a second Villierme painting purported to be
a Diebenkorn wound up at the San Francisco gallery owned by Paul
Thiebaud, son of Sacramento's most famous painter, Wayne Thiebaud.

Two days before the opening of an exhibition inspired by the Blair
book in May 2004 at the Crocker, museum officials pulled the painting
from the lineup after questions about its provenance first surfaced,
according to the Crocker's chief curator, Scott Shields.

The painting fooled nearly everyone.

"I still think it was one of the best paintings in (Blair's)
collection. Nobody thought to question it, because it was so good,"
Shields said.

He added, "It didn't hurt the show, but it was upsetting to have it questioned."

Paul Villierme, Henry's son, discovered the forgery when Blair
advertised it for sale in a fine art magazine. Paul Villierme
contacted Blair, and the two met in San Francisco, according to the
lawsuit. Paul Villierme showed Blair photographic evidence that his
father had made the painting and asked that the painting be returned.

Blair told Villierme he acquired the painting from Natsoulas soon
after another forged Diebenkorn was used as collateral on a loan Blair
made to Natsoulas to expand his Davis gallery.

Natsoulas, 45, is a force in the regional art market, and his gallery
is well known. In 2000, The Bee published a story about the new
12,000-square-foot expansion, which cost $1.5 million and featured a
rooftop sculpture garden, 20-foot ceilings and large windows in
downtown Davis.

Natsoulas' father is a retired UC Davis psychology professor, and his
mother often was seen working in the gallery in the early years.

Several artists contacted for this story expressed differing views of
Natsoulas and his impact in the art community.

"I've never had an issue with John. He's done nothing but elevate my
career," said Boyd Gavin, a Sacramento painter.

Asked about the influence of the Natsoulas Gallery, Gavin said, "My
God, the gallery is a mecca. It's like a museum."

Sandra Shannonhouse, a Benicia sculptor, remembers a young Natsoulas
approaching artists two decades ago to donate work to raise money for
Amnesty International, the human rights organization. Shannonhouse is
the widow of Robert Arneson, the nationally known sculptor and
longtime University of California, Davis, art professor who died in
1992.

Natsoulas liked dealing in art so much he decided to open his own gallery.

"Like a lot of artists I've sometimes had trouble getting money from
dealers, and that happened with John, and that's one of the reasons I
stopped consigning Bob Arneson's work to him (in the late 1990s),"
Shannonhouse said.

Asked about the impact on the art market when there's news of a
forgery, Shannonhouse said, "There will be more distrust of art and
more distrust of galleries."

Referring to the lawsuit's allegations of forgery, she said: "It's a
shock. Who would be stupid enough to do that?"

John Van Doren, whose Greenberg Van Doren Gallery in New York is
handling works from the Diebenkorn estate, said Diebenkorn forgeries
are relatively uncommon and he does not expect the Villierme
allegations to impact sales.

"What it may do is encourage people to ask the right questions," Van Doren said.

Two years after the publication of his book, Blair remains puzzled
about what actually happened and has plenty of questions of his own.

"I feel like I was victimized," Blair said. "But I'm not convinced all
the allegations are true. I'm not convinced John Natsoulas added a
signature to the painting.

"(Natsoulas) wanted me to loan him money for the addition to his
gallery," Blair said. "I said, 'Well John, I can't do that unless I
have some decent security.' "

The forged Diebenkorn that Natsoulas used as collateral on the
$175,000 loan from Blair was sold around 2000 to collectors John and
Susan Diekman, according to Blair. He said he delivered the painting
to the couple's Atherton home, and Natsoulas was present at the time
of the exchange when the Diekmans wrote a check to Blair that covered
the loan amount.

Blair said he is unsure how much the Diekmans actually paid Natsoulas
for the painting.

Soon after, Natsoulas told Blair about a second painting called
"Berkeley Road Home."

"He said to me, 'I have another Diebenkorn for sale,' " Blair
recalled. He said he bought the painting for $180,000, well below
market value.

"I thought he was doing me a favor because I saved his ass in helping
him keep his property."

That's the painting that landed in the book.

"It makes me look stupid," said Blair. "I learned that things aren't
always the way they appear. I always try to believe the best in
everybody. My wife says I am too naive, but that's the way I live my
life."

Blair was not the only one fooled. Paul Thiebaud, another buyer of an
allegedly forged Diebenkorn mentioned in the Villierme lawsuit, would
not comment for this story, and it is unclear what happened to the
painting that the lawsuit says his gallery purchased.

"It's a very sensitive issue," said Kelly Purcell, director of the
Paul Thiebaud Gallery in San Francisco. "He doesn't have the painting,
and he has no comment on it. If he chooses to pursue any litigation
regarding any transaction that may have transpired, he doesn't want to
do anything that would jeopardize that."

Shields, the Crocker curator, said the ordeal has taught him to be
more vigilant in sizing up artwork. Memories of the misidentified
painting in the book and the actual piece pulled from an exhibition at
the 11th hour continue to haunt him.

"Let's just say I question everything more, no matter who it comes
from," he said.

For several months, Natsoulas refused to answer questions from The Bee
as his lawyer worked out a settlement with Villierme.

More recently, Natsoulas said he could not comment because of the
confidential settlement.

When pressed, he said, "I don't know anything. I don't know what I'm
allowed to say. I'm very confused."

Henry Villierme had even less to say.

"I have no comment," he said before hanging up.

How much money, if any, was paid in the settlement is unclear. Records
filed with the California Secretary of State and Yolo County
recorder's office days before the settlement was reached indicate
Natsoulas mortgaged his gallery for $420,000 and used his private art
collection as collateral on an undisclosed loan. The lenders in both
cases were John and Susan Diekman of Atherton, the couple who
apparently had purchased one of the forged Diebenkorns -- the painting
Blair held as collateral and later personally delivered to them.

Contacted by telephone recently, Susan Diekman said, "We've been
advised not to comment."

When Blair was asked if he paid any money to settle the lawsuit, the
Fresno collector exclaimed: "Hell, no. But maybe I'm not allowed to
say that."

In fact, nearly everyone associated with the scandal has stopped
talking since the out-of-court settlement in early August. Even the
Thomas Reynolds Gallery, which is selling Villierme's work, would not
say anything for this story, provide biographical information about
the artist the gallery is trying to promote or furnish a price list of
the artwork the gallery is attempting to sell.

"I hope you can understand the difficult position I find myself in,"
Thomas Reynolds told The Bee. Among the paintings on exhibition at the
gallery is the now notorious "Highway Study No. 2."

The San Francisco gallery's Web site indicates that Henry Villierme is
painting again, decades after he informed Diebenkorn that he was
leaving the Bay Area art scene and taking a job with a bank.

Diebenkorn wrote years later, in a recollection posted at
ThomasReynolds.com: "I was stunned and desperately disappointed. Of
all the painting students at the California College of Arts and Crafts
who might have abandoned his direction, Henry was the one whose
defection hit me the hardest."

It is difficult to pinpoint the market value of Villierme's paintings,
because the artist had been inactive for so long and some might
consider his style derivative of his famous teacher.

For a recent exhibition at the Bolinas Museum, two Villierme
paintings, "Seascape" and "Self-portrait," were given insurance values
of $35,000 and $18,000, according to Elia Haworth, assistant to the
museum director.

Reflecting on the ordeal two years after the publication of the book
and the exhibition that very nearly featured a forgery, Shields, the
Crocker curator, says there has been one encouraging note in an
otherwise disturbing affair.

"I learned about an artist I did not know about," he said. "I would be
happy to have ("Highway Study No. 2") in this museum as a Henry
Villierme. It would be pretty wonderful if it would end up here."

About the writer:
The Bee's Blair Anthony Robertson can be reached at (916) 321-1099 or
brobertson at sacbee.com.