Why was Robert Fletcher suing artist Peter Doig?

Collector Robert Fletcher is suing artist Doig for claiming that a painting of a desert landscape is not his work. Fletcher’s lawsuit alleges that Doig is confused or lying about the origins of the painting in order to prevent its current owner from selling it for millions.
   When Doig first saw the work, it was only a photograph of the canvas. He denied it was his work, although it was very nice. Doig did grow up in Canada, but the artist said he never spent time in prison and has never even been to Thunder Bay.
   Fletcher, who intends to sell the canvas, brought the work to a Chicago-based gallery. A specialist told them that it is " rare to see such a complete and highly resolved early painting by Doig. " She later said that she only saw an image of the work and could not authenticate it without seeing it in person.
   A professor at New York University Law School suggests that it is unfair to Doig. And Doig’s lawyers may have already tracked down the actual author of the work. They identified a man named Peter. The mysterious artist died in 2012, but his sister said that the landscape looks like an Arizona horizon, which would have been familiar to him. The former prison’s art teacher not only confirmed that the painting was produced by Peter, but actually claims to have watched the man paint it.
   Doig, who plans to present documents to the court that prove that he was not in the area during the time when Fletcher claims that work was created, believes this incidence of mistaken identity is a result of the millions his paintings are raising at auction.