Adventures of Jodelle page by Guy Peellaert

Here is something quite special and an artist I am pretty sure 99.5% of you have never heard of in comics. Guy Peellaert only really did 2 comics in the 1960's in France. Jodelle from 1966(English translation from 1967 by Grove Press and reprinted by Fantagraphics in 2013) and Pravda in 1968 which I don't think has seen an English reprinting. There were 4 other lesser works he did from 1968-1970. These include The Game, She and the Green Hairs, Carashi and Martha Benton, all of which first appeared in Hara-Kiri which was predecessor of Charlie-Hebdo. Peellaert was ahead of his time adding psychedelic and pop elements to his comic art creating a small but important body of comic work that would influence and resonate with generations of comic artists to come. Guido Crepax would be the only artist that comes to mind similarly channelling pop art and adult themes as a contemporary. Guy soon left comics for Rock and counterculture fame as an artist. Probably best remembered from the covers to many rock albums including Diamond Dogs by David Bowie and It's Only Rock'n'Roll by the Rolling Stones, he went onto become a celebrity artist. It is worth looking into his art and career if you are interested.

Now for the drama.

I bought this art from a UK collector/friend who had bought the art legally in 2011 from an Artcurial auction in France. In 2016 when he went to sell again at Paris Christie's auction, the family came forward claiming the art was stolen. The art was held by the auction house and seized by the French authorities. The case went to court in 2018 and the art was returned to my friend, the consignor, with a judgement in his favor as the family did not provide proof to the claim of the art being stolen or to their ownership. In the additional images you can see the court's decision as well as the auction listing in 2011.

When I had the backstory I approached the family through their website to see if I could make thing right. They still contend that it is art that was never returned to them and hence stolen dating back to the 1979 when the publisher passed away still in possession of the art. The alternative story is that after an art exhibition and sale of his art at a gallery in Paris in the 1970's, Peellaert gave the gallery owner several pages of Jodelle art in lieu of commission for the art that sold. It is from these pages that this page is believed to have originated from. I haven't seen any documentation to prove this story (there were gallery shows/sales in this time period) nor any to disprove it or to support the other claim. As far as I am aware there was no attempt to recover the art prior to this and the art had been publicly displayed on public websites for years as well as passing through a very public auction in 2011. I have asked the family for proof in terms of a contract to return the art, an inventory list, a police report or other proof to their claim as I do not want to own stolen art but at the same time there needs to be evidence to support this claim. I got the initial responses from them which were harshly worded and a guilt ladened threat to make the art toxic and to interfere with any future sales. I did approach them about making a generous payment to them and having this clear title but I have not heard back from my request of proof of theft/ownership nor have they responded to my offer of restitution. I did approach several lawyer friends for an unofficial opinion on the matter and consensus was that there was no legal grounds with the family as if they did they would have already had the art and the French court decision confirms this. The reality of the situation is they could still be a nuisance and interfere with the future sale of his art. It is a bit of a mess but I am not one to shy away from getting to the bottom of things. If I believed this art was stolen, I would want nothing to do with it but I don't believe this to be the case.

This is becoming more and more of an issue in this hobby. Families and relatives now coming forward claiming art was stolen many years or decades earlier with no proof. We don't have good provenance records for art in this hobby and it is something that might need to change in the future as this may become a recurring issue going forward. At the time the art was almost worthless so no one cared but now that it has value, people see an opportunity to get something for nothing. I post this story to make collectors aware of the potential for this sort of negative attention and claims and be prepared to defend what you purchased legally. Of course, if the art you own is clearly stolen and there is proof, give it back. What stops anyone from making this claim on any art? There is art out that is truly stolen and I feel for these people whereas I have little sympathy for people living off the spoils of a successful relative looking for another free lunch.