Bob Dylan says he 'regrets' 'misjudgment' in selling machine-signed artwork and books: 'I want to rectify it immediately'

Bob Dylan released a rare public statement Friday night to admit he "regrets" having made "an error in judgment" by using machine technology to affix duplicate signatures to artwork and books that have been advertised and sold as hand-signed within the last three years.

He says the use of autopen signatures has only happened since 2019, when he was afflicted with a case of vertigo, and throughout the pandemic, when he was unable to get help from staff for the manual signature he had previously done. Dylan says he was given "assurance that this sort of thing happens 'all the time' in the worlds of art and literature". Now that it's been revealed and sparked controversy, the singer-songwriter says, “I want to fix it immediately. I work with Simon & Schuster and my partner galleries to do just that."

Other musicians have been suspected of using autopen for allegedly hand-signed material , and in rare cases have even acknowledged it, but the rest haven't sold fine art prints that regularly sell for between $3,000 and $15,000, like Dylan's fine art prints do. Dylan's statement that he used the autopen to sign artwork follows Simon & Schuster's admission a week ago that a $600 bundle of autographed copies of Dylan's new book, " Philosophy of Modern Song", was machine-signed, with refunds immediately offered.

A gallery specializing in the sale of Dylan art prints, Castle Galleries, based in the UK Uni, released a statement Saturday to say it was "reaching out to each of our collectors who have purchased prints of the (relevant) editions to come up with a solution to fully rectify the issue." It is believed that the galleries that sold the recent artworks will announce a plan to address the issue early this week.

Dylan's statement, posted to his Facebook account, says he hand-signed everything which was advertised as such until 2019. It reads:

“To my fans and followers, I have been informed that there is controversy regarding the signatures on some of my recent art prints and on a limited edition of "Philosophie de la chanson moderne". I've hand-signed every fine art print over the years, and there's never been a problem," the statement begins.

"However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued for the pandemic years. It takes a team of five people working closely with me to enable these signings, and we couldn't find a safe and convenient way to complete what I needed to do while the virus was raging. So , during the pandemic, it was impossible to sign anything and dizziness did not help. With contract deadlines looming, the idea of ​​using an automatic pen was suggested to me, with the assurance that this sort of thing happens "all the time" in the world of art and literature."

Dylan's statement concludes: "Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately . I am working with Simon & Schuster and my partner galleries to achieve this. With my deepest regrets, Bob Dylan."

It is unclear whether plans to remedy the situation works art would involve refunds - which could potentially run into at least hundreds of thousands of dollars - or the cheaper option of providing replacement prints that are truly hand-signed, if Dylan is now up to it - or a other unknown option. The "Philosophy of Modern Song" issue, meanwhile, has already been resolved, with customers who purchased the $600 limited edition of 900 books already being refunded this week by Simon & Schuster.

Dylan's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

Castle Galleries' statement, also posted on Facebook, reads: "We have been informed late yesterday that during the Covid 19 Pandemic, Bob Dylan used an autopen to sign many of his limited edition prints rather than his usual hand signature. These editions are: the Retrospectrum collection prints and the Sunset print, Monument Valley that we published this year. We can confirm that all other editions were in...