An adjuster called on contents claims experts to consult on theappraisal, conservation, and diminution of value of a Donald Juddstatue that fell from its wall mount and was dented when it struckthe floor. Judd statues are geometric in shape, many resemblingboxes of various sizes and proportions. The statue may be asingular form or multiple forms installed as a group. The statueswere often constructed of either stainless steel or aluminum stock,and unpainted.

Judd's artistry was in the design of his statues. Much like anarchitect designing a building, Judd designed his statues, but theywere not made by his hand. They were crafted to his specificationsby others, built to meticulous specifications in industrialfabrication shops.

Donald Judd statues routinely bring north of a million dollarsin today's market. What effect would this dent have on the statue'svalue?

Case Background

After an initial inspection, the contents specialists concludedthe nature of the dent could be greatly improved by a highlyskilled conservator; however, we also determined that it would beunlikely for all evidence of the dent to be reversed. To thecontrary, given the importance the art market places on themeticulous construction and attention to detail which is thehallmark of Judd's statues, we fully anticipated some diminution ofvalue, which could only be fully evaluated post conservation. To be of assistance to the owner, contents experts identified theconservator the Judd Foundation has the most faith in to make suchrepairs.

The owner ignored these recommendations and chose to work with adifferent conservator. Upon notification that the conservation workwas completed, the contents team scheduled a re-inspection. As thestatue was viewed hanging on the wall, initial impressions wereexcellent. Closely examining the area of the dent, experts foundabsolutely no remaining evidence of the dent, as well as noevidence of the metal work by the conservator. The contents teamwas stunned by what appeared to be a prefect restoration of theartwork.

Turning their attention away from the apparent success of thedent repair, contents specialists removed the statue from the walland examined the statue in its entirety. The outwardappearance and dimensions was spot on, however while examining thesubstructure, the contents team began to realize something waswrong. The team had created an exhaustive image study of the statueduring its initial inspection, not only the publicly viewed outwardfacing surfaces, but also the never viewed internal substructure ofthe statue. While performing the re-inspection of thesubstructure of the statue, very tiny but discernible inconsistencies with the original images began to emerge; theshape, number and exact placement of spot welds, tiny variations inthe end cuts of the stainless steel, the location of a drill hole,etc. were not exactly as originally constructed.

What had not been disclosed, but what the inspection revealedwas that the contents team was not examining an incrediblysuccessful conservation of the authentic Judd. They were in factinspecting nothing more than a well-executed replica of theoriginal statue, being represented as the authentic Judd. If it hadnot been for the contents teams' painstaking attention to detail,noticing the fabricator's failure to replicate originalconstruction details, the true nature of this statue still mightonly be known to those perpetuating the charade.

The Result

Some might say that Judd never personally fabricated the statuein the first place, and if this new construction was faithful tohis original design, what is the harm? There would be no harm ifDonald Judd were alive, had been consulted and approved the plan toreplace the damaged statue in advance, oversaw the construction ofthe replacement statue, the destruction of the damaged statue beingreplaced, as well as inspecting and endorsing the finalproduct as “his art.” All of which would be documented in theprovenance of the statue. Unfortunately, none of that is whathappened here.

Does this statue have a million-dollar-plus value as a Judd?Absolutely not! Although, I shudder to think what it could havesold for if its true origins had not been exposed. If theowner represents the statue truthfully, and it is sold as awell-executed replica of an authentic Judd, it has some decorativevalue, but only a tiny fraction of an authentic Judd. If the ownerattempts to sell this object as authentic, this now revealed fakehas a value of zero dollars.