European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 15, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By tue ton Lew Iwlew a former army Captain who is now a major in the reserves left the military in 1975 to open an Art business in  had seen some paintings sold to the military Iwlew says. I thought i could sell better paintings at better prices. I intended to do it for one year i be been doing it Ever  he has a following due in part to his Money raising programs Tor military groups documented by hundreds of letters of recommendation. He lectures and writes about Art fraud. Some of his business practices however Hava drawn criticism. At auctions Iwlew sometimes labels prints As sold out when they Are still available through dealers. See separate stay. Through promotional material and advertising Iwlew sometimes creates the impression that specific works of Art will increase in value. Iwlew is a dealer for stateside publishers. He also buys original Ops and water motors and makes his own  prints which Are photo mechanical reproductions. Seventeen plates May be used to duplicate the nuances of the original. The result is not a photograph but a faithful reproduction. Editions can run from50 to 1,000copies. Then the plates Are destroyed which makes the prints smiled  each is signed and numbered by the artist who created the original picture but who May not have had a hand in producing the print. Iwlew also Sells original serigraphs and etchings oils and Watercolours. Once e print it made the publisher suggests a retail Price. Authorized dealers such As Iwlew usually get prints for half Price. Iwlew Bellson print with Tiss suggested retail Price. Lor$175, including framing. He says customers save Money because they re getting Quality frames for less than they would pay in the states Stew custom frames All prints using acid free backing and matting and Quality Wood or Metal. Iwlew gives classes on framing and matting in military communities. He often donates prints to officers or wives clubs which gel 11 percent of his sales for sponsoring a Bazaar or auction. I have never heard of any complaints said Anne Rouse president of the Ansbach officers and civilians wives club. "1 Don t know of anyone in this area who Ever turned a print Back in.  his pieces so the buyers know what they re investing ,"rousesaid."laccepthiswordforit" among the artists Iwlew handles is Frank Mccarthy known or his Western scenes. Iwlew also Sells prints with military themes. Perhaps his most popular artist is Pat Buckley Moss. She has sold More than 200,000 prints Iwlew said. Newyork dealer Herbert Amot said of Moss Art they re just Nice decorative prints. I would t consider it investment Art then again you never know. You l have to wait 10lo30years to find out. Ii could be that her work will become very popular for collectors like hummels. The value could go up. But you can t predict  asked to sum up the graphic Art offered by Iwlew the editor of Art business news said it s Art for Middle  but it s just As valid As any other kind of Art if new it s presented  editor to Schwartz also said. There s definitely a very important marketplace for offset limited editions and there s nothing wrong with that. There s Beena Toto controversy in the Art work since off set was introduced controversy about whether offset is really Art. It is. It s opened up Art and artists to a part of society that would never have been Able to Jet into Art otherwise. The average consumer would t have the courage to go into a Fine arts Dealership. This is definitely Art. H May not be a Kwh ticket Art but it s just As  Matt of the Haw Portt dealer praised the Greenwich workshop a Connecticut publisher that supplies prints to Mew. Nice works prices am generally reasonable said Donna Carlson of the Art dealers association of America. Many pleasant decorative works such As these May eventually go up in value but there s just no Way to predict that. I d be very dubious about an unfamiliar dealer making claims about appreciation and invest ment she said. Iwlew does t stress prints As investments. But he leaves Little doubt that he expects some will appreciate. In my presentation. I go into All the aspects of buying Iwlew says. I Call ii coming from he heart. I Don t stress investment. But i know what our pieces Are Selling for. If i believe a piece will go up in value i Tell them  a 19b3 Vladimir brochure notes that Mccarthy s Lone Sentinel was released in 1974 Tor $55 and now has the collectors Price of $1,800. It also Stales that artist James Bama is cutting Down on his work and is at most doing one release a year in the immediate foreseeable future. This is going to dry up the present prints on the Market very quickly. For those who own his works keep them. Lor those wishing to buy now is the time to buy Bama has not released a print in two years Iwlew said Witow said he believes 99 percent of his customers buy a print because they like it. But some buy for an investment a dubious decision according to the new York gallery representatives. In february 19bs, Rebecca and 1st la. Dewey Shepard bought four prints at auction at the gain Haussin officers club. Three they liked and intended to keep. But not hurry and Wail by Don Stivers. We bought it to resell Rebecca Shepard said fast month. We thought we could make a Little Money out of it you know Basic  the Shepard advertised ii for Sals in two magazines widely distributed free to service members. Meanwhile they sold one of the other three prints to a relative at a profit. The Shepard who paid $250 for the Stivers print 17 months before could t sell it Lor $350. I Haven t found it a Good buy Dewey Shepard said. I Don t think it s an investment. If i had to do it Over again. I would t buy  sold out. Or is it the term sold out to describe print scan be misleading. It does necessarily mean that copies Are unavailable from dealers. N the limited edition print business a publisher decides in the size of the edition establishes a suggested retail Price and lists it in a Catalon. The publisher has contracts with dealers to Market the prints and often does t sell directly to the Public. Labelling a print sold out can mean that the publisher has sold All of his copies to dealers. Some dealers use the term to advertise the print and sell it for More than the publisher s suggested Price. At military Bazaar and auctions in military clubs in Germany Lew Holew owner of Vladimir arts of Ansbach follows that practice and says it la routine with print dealers. For example at a recent auction he opened the bidding on Mccarthy s the last crossing at $710, Frame included. He listed the print As sold  the publisher s unframed suggested release Price was $350, and Iwlew says the unframed print is now being sold in the United states for Between $350 and $700. The Way i do it la the accepted practice in the United Stales Iwlew said. We have satisfied customers who come to our shows. They Trust us. We re proud of  Donna Carlson of the Art dealers association of America said it May be a bit misleading for a dealer to advertise a particular work As sold out but technically it s True it did sell out when it first went on the Market. But Janet Leman of Christie s contemporary Art in new York. Said. If there s a limited Supply available. It s not sold out i can see what he s doing trying to make the work sound More attractive to buyers by saying it s sold out therefore it s in hot demand i Don t think that s really fair  Braham Stiles sales representative of the Greenwich workshop in Trumbull conn., is also critical of the technique. It s debatable if it s a Standard practice Stiles said. It s unfortunate but that s Why you be got a wide Range of  Stiles says the prices go up or Down depending on the gallery s location or popularity of the artist. A Western print might not do Well in Boston. A seafaring print might not do Well in Indiana. Stiles tells of a sold out nautical print Selling in Connecticut Lor $1,200. Dedicated shoppers can find it elsewhere or $90, he says. Jona Mower sales manager at the Greenwich workshop said dealers control prices once prints have been sent by he publisher. We try to encourage our dealers to sell at the original Issue Price Mower said. But once we sell the product it s theirs to do what they  the stars and stripes Page is