On rapid change part II

Behind the Scenes

Recently, I wrote an email to a man in the arts that I respect. Here is an excerpt:

”While working I’ve been thinking about digital strategy. I believe you will be fine in the future as you’re legitimate, have a good character and refined social skills. I don’t think you’ll need any advice re: digital strategy because you adapt naturally however if you’d like to talk about it in the future I’ll always be open to it.

I think most of the artworld will struggle in the future because… information from different sources can be compared online and is accessible to anyone. It’s impossible to predict a time frame, it could range from 2 to 20 years depending on the rate of change.”

A few hours later I discovered via an international art auction database that an artwork stolen from me in 2001 had been offered by a major art auction house on October 31 without a record of provenance and without copyright approval for reproducing my artwork. I discovered an issue with a different auction house via an international art auction database in the past, which I documented in my essay The future of art fraud. This time my discovery only took a few days, not a few years.

Over the last year I've become practised at keeping a record of data and events for police in relation to being stalked. So instead of writing further about this incident, I’ll list the record of events.

15 July 2024 eBay listing of three stolen study collages (I didn't see listing until 24 August), two using photographs of me.

19 July 2024 eBay listing of stolen Bird of Prey, a study collage using a photograph of me, with description "who is the bird, who is the prey". I did not see this until August, after it became a sponsored post (paid ad).

14 August 2024 I became aware of eBay listings because Bird of Prey study was sponsored (paid ad) so it appeared at the top of Google search "Hazel Dooney art for sale", which I check periodically to review the secondary market.

24 August 2024 Listings removed by eBay at 4pm due to copyright infringement.

29 September 2024 An artwork I painted in 2004, Self Vs Self #2, was sold at an online auction by Lawsons Auctioneers. I discovered this on 14 December 2024. No copyright permission was requested despite being on Copyright Agency’s list of ‘prior approval’ artists. I have a good professional relationship with Lawsons so it may have been added to the online-only auction at late notice and slipped through their checking process. The painting had a low estimate and sold for the standard price of a small painting and a third of the price of a painting the same size that was auctioned in 2021. Even if Self Vs Self #2 was bought back by the vendor (or someone acting on their behalf) at an unusually low price, the sale will be automatically recorded on international art auction databases. This appears to be an attempt by a vendor to devalue the secondary market of my work during the early stage of a comeback.

14 October 2024 Received a repeat fake enquiry from a hotmail account about works using with me as the figure-model from an art expedition to William Creek and beyond in 2001: “Hi Hazel, How’s things? I hope all is well. I am just seeing if you still have any prints from Williams Creek? I still want a hot woman with a gun on my wall!!”
I received the first of these emails on 27 January 2024.
The final painting of Bird of Prey was included in the book titled William Creek & Beyond, published in 2002.

17 October 2024 I wrote about being stalked by a group of men over the last year, organised by a man in the artworld who has harassed me for more than twenty years (paragraphs four to seven and paragraph ten).

31 October 2024 Stolen Bird of Prey study offered at auction by major art auction house Leonard Joel, retitled Untitled, without record of provenance or copyright approval. I did not know about this until 5 November.

5 November 2024 I saw a record of the stolen study at auction on international online database invaluable https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/hazel-dooney-untitled-2001-4054-c-2a44ea4a05 .
I searched Leonard Joel's website for records of my work in their previous auctions and did not find the listing. It had already been removed. However a separate google search found the record of it being offered for sale at their online auction, URL ‘https://bidlive.leonardjoel.com.au’ .
4:57pm I emailed Copyright Agency informing them of copyright infringement.

6 November 2024
10:42am Received email reply from Copyright Agency: "I emailed my contact at Leonard Joel earlier this morning and resent the list of ‘prior approval’ artists of which you are one. This same list was sent to this new staff member on July 24. And on other occasions to other staff members prior. I’m sorry that there is this level of non-compliance evident. Let's hope that this most recent correspondence will solidify the importance of needing to comply with our very simple request, ahead of any reproduction of your works."
3:37pm Received email from Copyright Agency: "Leonard Joel wanted me to advise you that they have removed your artwork from the website and sale and that they apologize for the oversight."
3:44pm I replied by email: "That’s not true. Here is a link https://bidlive.leonardjoel.com.au/auction-lot/hazel-dooney-untitled-2001_2A44EA4A05 ”

8 November 2024
10:48am My artwork is still on the Leonard Joel website: https://bidlive.leonardjoel.com.au/auction-lot/hazel-dooney-untitled-2001_2A44EA4A05

My artwork is also still listed in the catalogue (lot 4054)
https://bidlive.leonardjoel.com.au/auction-catalog/the-auction-salon-art_8F9PQY3HAN
Update 8 November 12:48pm Image removed due to copyright restrictions, two hours after On rapid change part II was simultaneously emailed to subscribers and published online.

Further Updates
11 November 2024
4:09pm Received an email from a collector of my work letting me know that my stolen Bird of Prey study was also reproduced without permission on mutual art.com
4:19pm I emailed Copyright Agency: “I write to request that Leonard Joel also have my artwork removed from mutualart.com due to copyright infringement:
https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/HAZEL-DOONEY/2A7A6AD46A354A4FFEA5A893ECE24AC4 "

12 November 2024
9:23am Received an email from Copyright Agency stating “Leonard Joel have acknowledged receipt of the request, and the removal is in train.”
9:29am I emailed Copyright Agency an acknowledgement and “I write to again request that the following explicit images are deleted from Leonard Joel’s website and any associated auction house databases due to copyright infringement and misinformation. I have already had them removed from several international art auction databases due to copyright infringement. Further, this digitally printed photograph is not titled ’Survival’ and it was not created in 2001.”
The photograph is not by me, it was included in an exhibition titled PORNO at MARS Gallery in 2008. The image is reproduced uncensored on Leonard Joel’s website using my name and the title of my etching, Survival 2002, from the same body of work as my stolen study for Bird of Prey 2001.

25 November 2024
10am Although I haven’t heard back from Leonard Joel (via Copyright Agency) I checked the website this morning. The images have been removed.