Jasper Johns to testify at NY art trial of man accused of trying to sell fake ‘Flag’ for $11M
Posted January 22, 2014 4:32 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NEW YORK, N.Y. – A prosecutor has told a New York jury that artist Jasper Johns will testify against a foundry owner charged with trying to sell a fake bronze sculpture of his iconic 1960 painting “Flag” for $11 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Feingold told a Manhattan jury Wednesday that Johns will say Brian Ramnarine (RAM’-nah-reen) lied by claiming the artist gave him the sculpture as a gift.
And he said Johns will testify he never knew the fake existed.
Feingold said the artist hired Ramnarine to make a wax impression of his famous painting in 1990, but the mould was never returned. Feingold says Ramnarine tried to sell the knockoff in 2010 as he struggled financially.
A defence lawyer says Ramnarine had oral agreements with artists and is not guilty.
