(Formerly Morrisseau Art Consulting Inc.)
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Expert Authentication of
Norval Morrisseau and Maud Lewis Artwork
ABOUT
Art Experts Canada Inc. specializes in the investigation and examination of artworks attributed to the great Canadian Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau, and into other artworks where authenticity is in question. Its two principals are lawyer and art fraud expert Jonathan Sommer and Norval Morrisseau art expert and art fraud investigator John Zemanovich.
OUR TEAM
JONATHAN SOMMER
CEO
Jonathan J. Sommer B.A., M.A., LL.B., Q.Arb., is an Ontario-licensed lawyer and arbitrator with two decades of experience in litigation, intellectual property issues and general business law. Over the last decade, his practice has focused on art fraud. He ran the investigation and litigation that led to the Hearn v McLeod case which is the subject of the film There Are No Fakes (2019), and he regularly represents victims of art fraud. He is also the author of the section on art fraud in the recent book Art Law: Cases and Controversies (2022), and is a frequent lecturer and media contact on art fraud law. Prior to becoming a lawyer, he was trained as a filmmaker and photographer.
JOHN ZEMANOVICH
COO and Norval Morrisseau Expert
John Zemanovich is an expert in the investigation and examination of Norval Morrisseau artworks. He is an artist, collector, former gallery owner, former member of the Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society and researcher and advisor on Morrisseau issues. Over the last three decades, beginning as a Norval Morrisseau art collector, Mr. Zemanovich has provided consulting services to some of the most important Norval Morrisseau collectors, academics, museums, galleries, and to the Norval Morrisseau Estate, and he also provided information and evidence to Sommer Law, the firm that successfully represented the plaintiff in Hearn v McLeod, the case that widely exposed the Norval Morrisseau fraud.
ALAN
DEACON
Maud Lewis Expert
Alan Deacon is an expert in the investigation and examination of Maud Lewis artworks. A retired educator, Deacon purchased his first Maud Lewis painting directly from the artist in the 1960s and has been collecting her work ever since. Deacon's deep knowledge of Maud Lewis's style and techniques is a result of over 50 years of study and experience. He has been consulted by galleries and auction houses to authenticate Maud Lewis paintings, including those owned by the Nova Scotia government. He is known in galleries and among collectors as "The Maud Lewis Expert."