An open letter signed by art historians, curators, and researchers protests an upcoming auction at Stanley's Auction House in Zaventem, Belgium, scheduled for April 23, titled “Tributes to the Russian Avant-Garde & Constructivists.” The second sale is organized in cooperation with Drouot, a major French auction platform, and offers approximately one hundred works from the so-called Toporovsky collection, which has been linked to a scandal involving forged Russian modernist paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent. The alleged suppliers, Igor Toporovsky and Olga Toporovsky, face criminal charges including the sale of 171 forged works for about €20 million, with court proceedings beginning in May in Ghent. The signatories argue that the auction, with works priced around €300 each, is deeply troubling given the pending legal case and the undisclosed consignor identity.
The letter matters because it highlights the fraught relationship between art scholarship and the market, questioning the ethics of selling works with contested attribution and provenance. The signatories warn that once dispersed, these works may reenter circulation without disclaimers, lacking durable marks or systematic recording in databases like the Art Loss Register, Artprice, or Artnet, which could limit transparency and traceability. The involvement of Drouot risks lending institutional legitimacy to the circulation of potentially forged works, underscoring broader concerns about legal minimalism versus ethical responsibility in the art market.