Ont. man sentenced for role in Norval Morrisseau art fraud ring

Jim White, 84, leaving the Barrie Courthouse in Fall 2024. (CTV News/ Mike Arsalides)

The Essa Twp. man at the centre of an art fraud ring that sold mimicked works of late Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau has been sentenced after accepting a plea deal ahead of trial.

Jim White, 84, was granted a conditional sentence of two years less a day Friday morning in a Newmarket, Ont. courtroom. White pleaded guilty in June.

The court heard, he was involved in marketing and selling hundreds of fake Morrisseau art around the world, some pieces sold for tens of thousands of dollars. He pleaded guilty to two counts of producing forged documents and to possession and trafficking of more than 500 pieces of fake art.

His co-accused, David Paul Bremner, 78, admitted to being part of the art forgery network by producing certificates of authenticity for artworks falsely marketed and sold as genuine pieces by Morrisseau.

Morrisseau, often called the “Picasso of the North,” is widely recognized as the grandfather of contemporary Indigenous art in Canada. Morrisseau passed away in 2007. For years, his estate has fought forgeries that flooded the art world market.

Bremner admitted he authenticated, appraised, and/or otherwise handled art works provided by one of his co-accused. The allegations against that man have not been tested in court with a trial scheduled to begin next month.

As part of his plea, Bremner admitted to “turning a blind eye” to suspicions that the works were forgeries and that he took inadequate further steps to verify their authenticity and proceeded to authenticate the art anyway. Some pieces he authenticated sold for more than $30,000, with another fetching close to $100,000.

Bremner admitted he knew his certificates were being used to authenticate and legitimize the artworks and that his certificates were relied upon by White and others to sell the pieces, despite never having received formal training to authenticate Morrisseau works.

Bremner is scheduled to be sentenced next month in Barrie by Justice Michelle Fuerst.