Sure, collectors know very well the difference between an estate release and a release by a living artist. That’s exactly why, a gallery - like Maddox - that does not disclose the “estate” nature of their prints is despicable .

If you go on Maddox’s website, there is no mention of the estate, and if you enquire about one of these prints, again they keep that very salient info for themselves (see below - that’s what they tell you if you ask for more info).

Do you consider this honest behaviour?

To echo what others have said, stay away from these they are garbage.

As a big Hambleton fan, would give my right arm for something from him.

However, this to me exposes how people will try and profiteer from his legacy, and appreciate all the comments on this thread.

Hi Met,

Just waited on an email back to clarify bits for you. Please see below from an email I just got. Should answer most Q’s whether it’s what people want to hear is another matter!





Andy Valborbida, a well-known art dealer and collector, runs Richard’s estate and he owns the licence of his ‘brand’ via his company ‘Untitled-1’ (you’ll the company stamp on the pieces).
He was one of the very first people who started the global movement to bring Richard’s name back to its rightful place.

He and Vladimir Roitflield ‘adopted’ Richard back in 2009. Since then, Andy collected as many of his paintings in existence as possible in order to exhibit them around the world.
Valmorbida and Roitflield reintroduced Richard’s work to the world in 2009 with a big sponsorship by Giorgio Armani, who loves Richard’s art and supported his first show in over 20 years!
A series of exhibitions followed the Armani show.
The last years of Richard’s life were very difficult and he isolated himself from everyone, including Andy.
After his death, the estate passed to his only living sister. Andy Valmorbida, being so passionate about Richard and his art, purchased the estate and all the rights from her.
This way, he could continue to promote and support Richard’s amazing legacy.

Andy trusted us with this program, knowing that we will treat Richard’s name and art with the due respect he deserves.
We, Castle Fine Art, produced the silkscreen prints here in the UK.

I hope this helps!

Thank you for the helpful information. Much appreciated.

I was afraid you might say Andy Valmorbida, whom I have mixed feelings about.

Valmorbida may well be in the strongest position to run Richard Hambleton's estate — especially if the artist's family members are uninterested, too elderly or otherwise incapable of doing so. He certainly has a flair for promotion, a passion, and (as owner of a stockpile of Hambleton originals) a clear vested interest.

But I also don't trust Valmorbida. The man comes across to me as almost a caricature of a dealer. He would not have looked out of place as an extra in Velvet Buzzsaw. My concern is that, in cases of almost inevitable conflict, Valmorbida's self-interest will always take precedence over those of the Hambleton estate. Selling posthumous multiples through Castle Fine Art is already a terrible omen.



Below is an article covering the 2010 London pop-up limb of a travelling exhibition — organised by Valmorbida and Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld (and sponsored by Giorgio Armani, another prominent collector of Hambleton's work). It refers to the arguably opportunistic pricing at the time. Shenanigans are also alluded to, like the renaming of artworks to blur provenance — in particular earlier sales at public auction that hammered for a small fraction of the amounts later being asked by these two dealers.

Hat tip to lee3 for kindly assisting with the research, by providing previous Hambleton sale figures only available to Artnet account holders.

arrestedmotion.com/2010/12/viewpoints-openings-richard-hambleton-pop-up-show-the-dairy-london/

You were told by a few users that this is a cash grab like the Maddox ones.

Any normal user would stop posting about this but now your back with a big bullshit story

What's in this for you?

There is an OG on offer in a Central London non scammer gallery for far less than 50% of £200k

Nice one, I’ll have a little read of it.

Found this also if you wanted to take a look:

www.richardhambletonofficial.com/

Not a lot on there at the moment really but would be interesting to see how active the site looks when there is this drop on 1st July.

phew

many thanks

What is certainly clear — especially following irl1's posts — is that anyone considering making a purchase has now been given ample warning of the need to carry out their own due diligence.

If potential buyers are basing their decisions on assurances of legitimacy of the pieces being sold, they must also verify the trustworthiness of the source of that information. And, if applicable, the source's source.



I myself have zero interest in posthumous prints.

But if I were interested in the forthcoming Hambleton (or "Hambleton") release, I'd make efforts to track down the artist's sibling(s) for direct confirmation on whether or not an estate has been established.

Given the conflicting facts we've been provided here, it would seem unwise at this stage for anyone to place their faith solely on the word of a high street gallery that is trying to sell the prints.

Yes correct they are all still alive

If they are signed Habletons you might have a problem.

‘A stealth artist from Seattle has been replicating the ’80s street art of Shadowman throughout Manhattan.’

www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/arts/design/the-return-of-the-shadowman.amp.html

Interesting New York Times article…

Shady AF. And tragic that Richard Hambleton's legacy is left in this guy's hands.