NY Jury To Hear Jasper Johns Testify At Art Trial

NEW YORK (AP) – A prosecutor has told a New York jury that artist Jasper Johns will testify against a foundry owner charged with trying to sell a fake bronze sculpture of his iconic 1960 painting “Flag” for $11 million.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Feingold told a Manhattan jury Wednesday that Johns will say Brian Ramnarine lied by claiming the artist gave him the sculpture as a gift.

And he said Johns will testify he never knew the fake existed.

Feingold said the artist hired Ramnarine to make a wax impression of his famous painting in 1990, but the mold was never returned. Feingold says Ramnarine tried to sell the knockoff in 2010 as he struggled financially.

A defense lawyer says Ramnarine had oral agreements with artists and is not guilty.