Le Poisson, a sculpture executed by Constantin Brancusi in the 1920s, was damaged and the owner is suing for $22.5 million. Brancusi's Le Poisson (1920-22, marble) before and after the damage. Who is at fault when an artwork worth over $20 million is damaged? That's exactly the predicament that French art collector Marc Baradel and Asher Edelman, the CEO of art finance firm Artemus, have found themselves in. Artemus, which was founded by Edelman in 2014, is an art leasing firm that buys artworks from collectors and loans them out to hotels, offices, and private collectors for typically seven years. Constantin Brancusi, Le Poisson, 1920-22, pre-damage. Image © Screenshot of the Evaluation Report for Mr. Baradel However, on July 3, 2018, Edelman's worst nightmare occurred. Le Poisson, a Constantin Brancusi sculpture made between 1920-22, fell off its pedestal in the Artemus office and cracked in half. It was valued before the accident at $22.5 million. The work is comprised of four parts: the black marble fish, a smaller white marble support, a black marble cube and a beige marble base. The work had belonged to Frenchman Marc Baradel since 1990. Sculpture after the fall, image © Screenshot of the Assessment Report for Mr. Baradel After the unfortunate accident, Baradel had the work restored and then reappraised in May 2019. However, the value had depreciated to $16.8 million due to the damage. Now, the art collector is taking legal action against Edelman and is claiming $22.5 million in compensation, as stated in a complaint filed in New York in early August. According to Baradel, the work was installed by Asher Edelman in the Artemus office before falling off its pedestal a few moments later and cracking in two. The complaint lodged by the collector states that the company Artemus "violated the consignment contract by not protecting the works of art against any damage when they were responsible for it". The marble fish after conservation. Photographs taken by the appraiser at the museum conservation studio, May 23, 2019. © Screenshot of the Assessment Report for Mr. Baradel However, Edelman disputes these accusations. “It’s preposterous,”…
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