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This is a communication site for folks who I have been in discussion with regarding my recent discoveries of the business dealings of Newmark Publishing
USA, and its owners, Ron and Margot Rowe, of Louisville, Kentucky.Due to a series of unfortunate events, in recent weeks it was discovered that the business dealings of Newmark USA Publishing have sometimes been very
shady, and in my opinion, criminal. Although I had previously had a lot of business dealings with them, and even referred many galleries to them, the things that I have discovered in the last few weeks have lead
me to believe that I should no longer do business with them. This had not always been the case. In fact, in their defense, I believe they started out well, and they were often well-intentioned.
Unfortunately, as the limited edition art market began to slow, they found themselves in financial difficulty. I believe they began to feel desperate, and began to compromise their integrity. I have tried
repeatedly to communicate my concerns with the owners, Ronnie and Margot, asking for them to clarify or to dispute the facts I have discovered. Instead, they have tried to hide behind the secrecy of
"confidentiality" agreements. In my opinion, they used those confidentiality agreements not to protect the business or artists, but rather to protect their compromising behaviour. According to legal documents
filed in the State of Kentucky, Newmark USA is no longer an entity, and instead is now known as MargotRowe.com. In this blog I will outline the facts I have discovered and then state my opinions.
Let me list the facts first:
- In the last few years the Rowes made agreements to license artists' prints on various merchandise without the permission of the artists. According to their contracts, artists were to be consulted before
images were printed or licensed. In some cases artists had expressly told Newmark that they did not
want their items licensed. This was ignored. While that in itself was bad, it was amplified by the fact that they did not tell the artists of the agreement they had made with companies they licensed to, instead taking and pocketing all of the proceeds from that licensing, with the artists never receiving any funds from those deals.
- The Rowes had not paid their artist for licensing or print sales in months. To this day, their artists were not paid for at least two years. There is doubt that they ever will be paid, in light of the fact
that their artists were listed on the bankruptcy proceedings.
- Margot and Ronnie Rowe went bankrupt. Personal financial collapse required that they file for bankruptcy. During this process of bankruptcy, the information that Ron and Margot gave to the Bankruptcy
Trustee indicated that Newmark did not have assets worth considering, and according to those documents, Newmark was dissolved in November of 2005. According to the bankruptcy record Personal Property
Schedule affidavid, the value of all their print inventory from all of their artists totaled $43,517.97 wholesale. In my possession, I have a document that they provided to one of their artists--only
a year before--that outlined that their inventory of just that single artist's prints were wholesale valued at over $386,000. Were they lying to the artist or were they lying to the bankruptcy court and
their creditors?
- Since no royalties from print sales were being paid, and no new prints being made, at least one artist wanted to terminate the exclusivity agreement with Newmark. One artist was told that the only way to
be freed from the contract was to forgive the large debt that Newmark owed the artist, and allow Newmark to have proceeds from all future sales of the prints. With the wholesale value of his prints at
$386,000, that is a fair chunk of change! The only other option that was given was that the artist would have to buy all of the prints…only then would Ron and Margot let the artist out of the
contract. The fact was that even in this strong-arming, Ron and Margot failed to tell the artist that under the contract, the artist was already freed, since the contract read that if no print had been
produced in 18 months, the artist was free from the exclusivity of the publishing agreement. Under this strong-arming, to avoid conflict, the artist agreed to release all past and future financial
obligations.
- In the bankruptcy proceedings, the judge specifically asked if there "were any receivables from the business" owed to Newmark. Margot said, "There are about $300 in receivables." I have confirmation
from a company that licensed images from Newmark that they were paid over $3700 in the last six months, with the most recent cheque dated 25/Jan/06 in the amount of $1625.63. Interestingly enough the cheque was
not cashed until after
the debt was discharged. None of those funds were ever given to the artists or creditors. In fact, there are still two years on those contracts and Newmark, which is apparently dissolved, is scheduled to receive payments quarterly from just this one company. Doesn't that sound like perjury?
In my business experience with Rowes, they were very good at connecting artwork with retail customers. On several occasions they searched for canvas prints for both me and my my associates at
galleries where their prints had been sold, trying to help hook me up with prints that they no longer had in stock. Of course, this was not only helpful for me, but also good business for them, because they demonstrated
to those galleries the demand for the artists' work, which could hopefully generate more sales. In fact, they made lots of money from me; literally thousands of dollars were generated by my enthusiasm for some of
their artists' works. I referred several galleries to them. They were appreciative of that and sent me a couple of books. Unfortunately I have become incredibly disappointed in their dealings with their
artists, and in their response to me and their artists when questions started coming up. When I could not get any answers from Rowes, and began poking around on my own to see what was going on in their business
dealings, they frantically contacted not me, but one of their artists—having not spoken to that artist in over a year—telling the artist to tell me to back off or they were going to sic their attorney on me. It felt
like more bluffing manipulation on their part, like they apparently often had done with their artists. My response back to them in an email, when I heard this from the artist was, "Maybe as you suggested, it would be a good idea for your attorney to call me, and I can ask him some questions. ...Questions that are being asked of me by folks."
…Questions that they were not willing to answer. Maybe they went silent because they knew that I had begun connecting the dots, and had begun to see the picture being created was entitled, "Untrustworthy." Even in that case, I have been so open to talking with them if they were only honest; putting all of this behind us if they were candid and showed signs that they realized their wrong and went about trying to make some things right.
I continue to wait to hear from them, since they have both my email and phone…which they used often when I was referring customers and galleries and businesses to them…but which has stayed silent since I have asked
for open and honest communication about these findings. It is apparent that they neither want to make things right nor want to try and help bring clarity. Rather, they prefer secrecy. I believe they have
deceived their artists and creditors and the courts and their customers, and that injustice frustrates me. Several customers of their artwork have also been very upset by these discoveries, and have encouraged me
to press on until justice is properly served. If you have additional facts and informational experiences that you have had with Newmark, feel free to email me. From conversations with several folks, we tend to think that our experiences are not unique just
to us. Personally I have struggled with the fact that Margot and Ron are continuing to make income off of these artists, even after they have theoretically gone bankrupt, and yet still not one red cent is going to
the artists., even though they continue to sell their prints online.It is my sincere wish that Margot and Ronnie will actually be able to come out of this all with some level of hope. If they express an open,
humble heart in these mistakes they made, and then do what they can to try and make things right, including apologies, I think people around them would gladly come alongside to do what they could to help them as
before. I really hope for them success in the future if they are willing to do what they can to make things right from the past. In fact, all along, if they would have shown a "contrite heart" in these
matters, we could have moved beyond this all so quickly. But unfortunately, the more they have grabbed to hide, the more ugly it has all become. I am concerned that things might possibly have to go all the way to
criminal charges of perjury and jail time before they are willing to face the evidence that they have done some very wrong things in the course of their business and legal dealings. Maybe there is some incredible
insight and wisdom in the Proverb that says, " Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour [is] humility." |
