Mishcon de Reya advises the estate of Norval Morrisseau

Mishcon de Reya's Art Law team, working alongside Aaron Taylor of Fountain Court Chambers, is providing pro-bono support to the estate of the prominent Anishinaabe artist, Norval Morrisseau, in securing the artist's legacy amidst what has been labelled the "biggest art fraud in the world" and the "largest cultural appropriation event in modern history".

The past three decades saw thousands of forged Morrisseau artworks released into the market by bad actors. On 5 September 2024, one of the forgery ring leaders David Voss was sentenced to five years in prison for fraud; this follows the sentencing of another Morrisseau forger, Gary Lamont, for the same amount of time in custody. Six others were charged with fraud by the Ontario Provincial Police last year.

Norval Morrisseau, also known as "Copper Thunderbird", was a founder and pioneer of the Woodlands School of art, which explores the intersections of Indigenous and Christian belief and cosmology through visual storytelling. The artist is widely considered by many to be the grandfather of contemporary Indigenous Canadian art. The fraud was described by Superior Court Justice Bonnie Warkentin presiding over Voss's sentencing as not only an art fraud, but "an appropriation of a cultural and spiritual identity of one of Canada’s most loved and valued artists".

The legal battle against the forgery rings has included a civil claim won by Kevin Hearn, a member of the Canadian music band The Barenaked Ladies, against the Toronto-based Maslak McLeod Gallery for the sale of a fake Morrisseau artwork. A documentary film There Are No Fakes by Jamie Kastner was based on the same.

Despite the tremendous challenges caused by the large-scale forgery of Morrisseau's works, the estate is positive about the artist's legacy. Cory Dingle, the Executive Director of the artist's estate, commented: “Voss's cooperation has led to the identification of approximately 1,800 paintings as counterfeit. This pivotal information has enabled the Morrisseau Estate — with the help of our pro-bono legal team at Mishcon de Reya — to secure forfeiture and the recovery of these works.” He also noted the estate's efforts in "compiling an official catalogue" of the artist's paintings and "establishing a thorough record of counterfeit works", encouraging owners of Morrisseau artworks to reach out to the estate.

The team at Mishcon de Reya comprises Simon Chadwick (Partner), Lavinia de Nazelle (Managing Associate) and Apolloniya Vlasova (Trainee). Further details on Mishcon de Reya's Art Law work can be found here.