Fakes & copies

British dealer James Butterwick cleared of defamation for describing Russian Avant-garde works in Mantua exhibition as fake

Italian judge said his opinion of the 2013 show was based on his “proven and recognised competence and experience”

Podcastspodcast

The story of a fake Gauguin at the Getty

Plus, Canadian First Nations artist Kent Monkman on his Met paintings and the art of food at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge

Hosted by Ben Luke and Margaret Carrigan. with guest speaker Martin Bailey. Produced by Julia Michalska, David Clack and Aimee Dawson

Bedevilled: multi-million Getty Gauguin is a fake

Museum probably paid at least $3m for the widely exhibited sculpture of a horned devil, but the misattributed work may have been made by a Polynesian artist for the European market

Crime news

Released but still under investigation: Russian couple embroiled in fraud scandal

Igor and Olga Toporovsky linked to controversial show of Russian avant-garde works in Ghent

As Nazi objects and fakes enter collectors’ market, should museums show them?

Highly publicised sales and seizures of Nazi memorabilia raise questions about whether such items should be exhibited

Met's “Riverbank” row rages over attribution debate

Experts prepare to fight it out at the Metropolitan as the painting bought from artist-collector C.C. Wang goes on display

Old Master fakes scandal: warrant issued for dealer Giuliano Ruffini as painter Lino Frongia arrested

Suspect has been jailed in northern Italy over case that has embroiled major international museums and dealers

Lawnews

The last lawsuit in the Knoedler fakes scandal is close to being settled

The Hilti Trust and the defunct gallery’s owners are in the process of reaching an agreement—but they could still end up in court

Knoedler owner Michael Hammer may be liable for fraud over fakes, New York judge finds

The ruling was based on the loose business dealings of Hammer, the gallery and its parent company—like reimbursing him $2m for luxury cars

Frans Hals court case may be settled but it raises questions over science, scholars and contracts

After settling with dealer Mark Weiss, Sotheby’s is still trying to recoup losses after refunding US buyer of the painting

Two art dealers sentenced over 'fake-genuine' Rodin sculptures after 18 year legal battle

US dealer Gary Snell and Paris-based Robert Crouzet found guilty in French court of making and selling copies of works by the French sculptor

Caravaggiocomment

Discovery in a Toulouse attic is no Caravaggio

There are too many oddities in the painting discovered in France five years ago

Sotheby’s settles claim against London dealer Mark Weiss in Frans Hals case

Settlement came day before trial was due to start, but its suit against financier will continue

Faking Hitler: the story behind a sinister market

Despite the failure of five of the dictator-to-be’s watercolours to sell at auction last month, a market for his works—both real and forged—remains

Nuremberg prosecutor seizes 63 Hitler works from auction house on forgery suspicions

Twenty-six of the seized works were to be auctioned at Auktionshaus Weidler tomorrow

Enigmatic Gino De Dominicis subject of complex fakes investigation in Italy

Market for Italian artist’s works slows as police investigation into alleged forgeries scares off some collectors

Hitler watercolours seized as suspected fakes

Three landscapes signed A. Hitler were offered for sale at Berlin’s Auktionshaus Kloss

African-American fakes on the rise

The problem is exacerbated as estates and foundations are increasingly unwilling to authenticate due to the threat of litigation

Forensic examination of all Modigliani works in French museums gets under way

Comprehensive analysis of 29 pieces from ten institutions could be “the best weapon against forgery”

Lawnews

US court orders collector to repay Sotheby’s $1.2m for Parmigianino fake

The judgement comes after two experts found the painting was made with modern synthetic pigments

Museum of the Bible says that five of its Dead Sea Scroll fragments are apparently fakes

Tests by German institute show "characteristics inconsistent with ancient origin"

Brillo Boxes ‘faked’ by museum director included in new Andy Warhol show

Pop artist's fist institutional exhibition revisited 50 years on at Stockholm’s Moderna Museet

Old Master saga: expert hired by vendor to prove Saint Jerome's authenticity says it is a fake

Maurizio Seracini concurs that the painting sold by Sotheby’s in 2012 is a modern forgery

Russia opens new exhibition centre dedicated to icons

The Grabar Art Conservation Center has launched the Ovchinnikov Ikonoteka space, which is named in honour of renowned restorer

French dealer awarded rights to Chinese artist T'ang Haywen's work

Paris court decision ends legal saga that began in 1991, when the artist died without an heir

Kraemer brothers among six charged over allegedly fake Louis XIV furniture

Laurent and Olivier Kraemer charged with organised fraud and money laundering in ongoing investigation over so-called "fake Boulles"

French museum discovers more than half its collection is fake

Police in Perpignan have confiscated around 80 works originally attributed to painter Étienne Terrus

Race to write Modern art history in the Middle East

Market for 20th-century works from the region will benefit from new technologies and deeper scholarship