The State - News from May 31, 1988

A Carmel art gallery has released photos of a French painter to rebut FBI allegations that paintings selling for as much as $24,000 were created by an assembly line of artists promoting themselves as one person. Simic Galleries released 10 photographs of Paul Valere working in his studio in France, but gallery officials concede that they have no absolute proof that Valere alone created the paintings. Simic, which also has galleries in Beverly Hills and La Jolla, sells about 90 Valere works each year. “We are either completely correct and we’re telling the truth, or we’re way off base and we’ve been had too,” said Ed King, financial vice president of Simic Galleries. The photos show a bespectacled man with a mustache working in a studio. King said Valere works under a pseudonym. The artist has agreed to disclose his real name to federal officials as long as his secret is protected, King said. Federal court documents filed last week claim that a gallery employee told FBI agents that Valere’s works--priced at $4,000 to $24,000--were created by a group. Simic Galleries has filed for injunction against the FBI, claiming that it has harassed customers and falsely told buyers that Valere’s works were frauds.