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Mandela tried to stop sales
11/05/2005 23:35 - (SA)
Waldimar Pelser , Beeld
Johannesburg - Four months ago, former president Nelson Mandela urgently tried to halt an
exhibition of Mandela Art in Switzerland because the "art" was apparently
being marketed and sold "illegally" under his name.
This followed an announcement by Ross Calder, the marketer of Mandela's art,
in November 2004 that the total sales revenue could be as high as R52m.
Calder would have earned 33% in commission (R17m) on this
figure.
In statements lodged with the Johannesburg High Court, Calder said he could
earn R9.2m from the sale of unsigned copies of Mandela's drawings,
especially those with Robben Island themes.
But with Mandela's signature, earnings could have climbed to "R30m".
However, a disagreement between Mandela and Calder led to Mandela issuing an
instruction on November 22 2003, that Calder no longer had the right to
market his art. But Calder's firm, Touch of
Mandela - which has galleries in Durban and Ballito - continues to sell the disputed works.
In court papers filed this week, Mandela said he has never given permission
for copies of his art to be sold without his signature, and that all
earnings should to go to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and Nelson
Mandela Foundation.
Mandela said two companies - Harmonieux Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd and
Abeille - hold the rights to market a limited number of copies of his work
and then "only if the original was created, completed or signed by me".
As early as September 2003, the owner of the Everard Read Gallery in
Rosebank, Mark Read, informed Calder's business partner, Mandela's former
lawyer Ismail Ayob, that Calder may want to market Mandela's artwork "without the original signature".
"This would undermine the value of all the sketches, including those that do
carry a signature."
Following allegations that Calder was marketing Mandela's works without signatures, Calder retaliated saying he did, in fact, have an agreement with the Nelson
Mandela Trust to market the art.
The trust is managed by Mandela's family.
In another letter, Calder says he had earned "more than R8m
for
"several charity organisations all over the world" through the sale of
artworks to the value of R33m over a period of 14 months.
Mandela said he did not keep record of how many artworks he created, relying
on Ayob to keep track.
Ayob and Calder have not yet lodged their response to Mandela's allegations.
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