Police: Aspen art gallery didn't do anything wrong

Aspen police say they have exonerated Royal Street Fine Arts in an investigation into an apparent art forgery racket that has two Colorado painters fuming over what they believe is an elaborate scam.

Over a year ago, local artist Tania Dibbs spotted what she says is a ripoff of her oil painting, “Valley Beyond,” at Royal Street Fine Arts, which has three locations in Aspen including one next door to Dibbs' gallery on the Aspen mall. Dibbs had sold the original “Valley Beyond,” for $10,000. The painting at Royal Street Fine Arts, which looks nearly identical to “Valley Beyond,” was signed by someone named Sean Lemon. Dibbs looked extensively for Lemon but said she was unable to locate him and believes the artist is fictitious.

Another artist, John Demott of Loveland, also believes a copy of his work, “Ahead of the Storm” was copied, with minor changes (the horses in the painting are different colors) and put up for sale at Royal Street Fine Arts.

“The customer who thinks he's buying an original piece of art is being fooled,” Demott told KCNC, the CBS news affiliate in Denver that aired a story on the matter in May.

CBS investigative journalist Brian Maass traced the apparent forgeries to a village in China, where he reports that millions of copies of original paintings are produced every year under fictitious names “to mask where they really came from.”

Aspen police issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon saying Royal Street Fine Arts is not guilty of any wrongdoing.

“The Aspen Police Department has conducted a thorough investigation into complaints of possible fraud and forgery involving art sales at Royal Street Gallery, and has concluded that allegations against the owners of the gallery are unfounded,” the statement reads. “The case is still currently open and active, while investigators intend to continue pursuing information related to the original complaint. The gallery and its owners are not suspect(s) in the continuing aspect of the investigation.”

Police began looking into the allegations in October 2009.

CBS reported that Peter Calamari, owner of Royal Street Fine Arts “repeatedly dodged” the TV station's attempt to interview him about the allegations. Calamari did, however, issue a statement that said “the accusations are false. ... We do not have artwork painted or reproduced in China. [Royal Street's art] is “outstanding, authentic and a good value for our clients.”

Dibbs, however, isn't buying it.

“In my opinion, [Royal Street Fine Arts customers] are being duped,” Dibbs told CBS.

River Name / Location	Stream flow, ft3/s	Gage height ft
Gore Creek
At Upper Station, Near I-70 Twin Bridges	n/a	4 ft
Booth Creek	n/a	4 ft
Abv Red Sandstone Creek At Vail	190	6 ft
At Mouth Near Minturn	225	7 ft
Beaver Creek
At Avon	21	2 ft
Lake Creek
Near Edwards	79	1 ft
Cross Creek
Near Minturn	98	4 ft
Homestake Creek
At Gold Park	127	5 ft
Eagle River
East Fork Eagle River Near Climax	n/a	2 ft
At Red Cliff	30	3 ft
Near Minturn	234	4 ft
Wastewater Treatment Plant At Avon	671	5 ft
Below Gypsum	826	5 ft
Colorado River
Near Kremmling	402	4 ft
Near Dotsero	1,620	3 ft
Below Glenwood Springs	3,080	5 ft
Near Cameo	3,740	6 ft
Below Grand Valley Div Nr Palisade	2,160	5 ft
Near Colorado-utah State Line	4,120	4 ft
Near Cisco, Ut	4,100	3 ft
At Lees Ferry, Az	12,100	9 ft
Near Grand Canyon, Az	12,000	9 ft
Yuma Main Canal Ww At Yuma, Az	987	10 ft
Roaring Fork River
Abv Lost Man Cr Near Aspen	n/a	n/a ft
Ab Difficult C Nr Aspen	53	1 ft
Near Aspen	78	1 ft
Near Emma	476	6 ft
At Glenwood Springs	1,160	3 ft
Hunter Creek
Near Aspen	57	2 ft
At Aspen	49	4 ft
Frying Pan River
Near Ruedi	111	2 ft
Crystal River
Abv Avalanche Crk, Near Redstone	610	2 ft
Arkansas River
Ef Arkansas R At Us Highway 24, Nr Leadville	46	3 ft
Near Leadville	85	5 ft
Below Empire Gulch Near Malta	156	3 ft
Below Granite	453	4 ft
Near Nathrop	451	4 ft
At Parkdale	464	3 ft