NewsArt market
Status of $4.8m Modigliani painting challenged as legal battle over artist's catalogues raisonnés ramps up
French expert Marc Restellini claims substantial modifications to Italian painter's 1915 portrait of Beatrice Hastings were not mentioned by Christie's when the picture was sold—twice
NewsArt market
Forgery, drugs and sex abuse in the Canadian art world exposed in new documentary
There Are No Fakes connects a forged Norval Morrisseau painting to a crime ring behind "the greatest art scam in Canadian history"
NewsArt fairs
Aggressive seizures by police at Brafa leave dealers feeling ‘assaulted’
Authorities brazenly took 34 artefacts during public opening hours at the Brussels fair
NewsFakes & copies
'Stolen' ancient sculpture returned to Nigeria is 'the kind of fake you could buy on eBay', African art expert says
Countries' rush to restitute objects is part of the problem, says Belgian lawyer
NewsForgeries
Alleged Bronzino seized from the Alana Collection in connection with ongoing Old Master scandal
French customs officials have barred the return of Saint Cosmos to the US following its inclusion in a show at the Jacquemart André Museum in Paris
NewsForgeries
Bankrupt 'playboy' James Stunt attempted to borrow £40m against works of art claimed to be forgeries
The former husband of heiress Petra Ecclestone owes £5m in debt including an unpaid sum of £3.9m to Christie's
NewsArt crime
Painter linked to Old Master forgery case appeals arrest warrant
Italian court postpones decision over Lino Frongia's arrest and transfer to France until February
NewsForgeries
Hollywood executive Ron Meyer files $10m lawsuit over alleged forged Rothko
The NBCUniversal vice chairman and co-founder of Creative Artists Agency claims two art dealers duped him into buying the fake painting for nearly $1m in 2001
ArchiveAttribution
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
NewsArt fairs
Paris fair struggles to move on from forged furniture fiasco
Criminal investigation launched three years ago into Parisian dealers at La Biennale continues to diminish confidence in the event's integrity
NewsForgeries
Fake Marsden Hartley found in medical giant’s collection points to a larger scandal
Abbott Laboratories suspects fakes found their way into its collection during conservation process
CommentAfrican American art
Missing in action: African-American art in European public collections
The market for work by African American artists is on the rise but museums are falling behind
NewsAfrican American art
African-American fakes on the rise
Problem is exacerbated as estates and foundations are increasingly unwilling to authenticate due to the threat of litigation
FeatureLost art
Lost art: the possibly forged but tantalising Sinaia lead plates
Noah Charney on the potential problems and fascinating details behind these little-known and under-studied objects
CommentArt market
Art authentication is not an exact science
The process of art attribution has come under attack, with forgery scandals rampant
InterviewArt market
Notorious forger Wolfgang Beltracchi on ethics, the art market and how to make a great fake
Now painting under his own name, Beltracchi's works are part of a selling exhibition currently touring Europe
NewsArt market
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
NewsLaw
Top experts dispute Italian police claims about seized ‘antiquities’
“I cannot imagine where a terracotta life-size horse head could come from in antiquity,” a specialist says
NewsForgeries
Fake Kandinskys, Malevichs, Jawlenskys? Top curators and dealers accuse Ghent museum of showing dud Russian avant-garde works
Scholar Vivian Barnett and dealer James Butterwick among the signatories
NewsForgeries
Malevich painting in Düsseldorf state collection exposed as forgery
Expert studies reveal Black Rectangle, Red Square was produced after 1950
NewsArt market
Collectors tackle rise in fake Modern Middle Eastern art
Dalloul Art Foundation investigates authenticity of some Middle Eastern works before museum opening
ArchiveMarch 2015
Collector Frank Fertitta discovers his "Rothko" is a Knoedler fake after reading The Art Newspaper
He is now suing former employees of the gallery
ArchiveMuseums & Heritage
Hitler’s ‘Renaissance’ jewels fashioned in the 19th century
Rijksmuseum’s examinations reveal truth about pendants
ArchiveKazimir Malevich
"Ridiculous" case involving possible Malevich, Suetin, and Chashnik fakes continues
The lawsuit, dating back to 2009, is between Russian dealer Gary Tatintsian and Lev Nussberg, an artist, art historian and collector
ArchiveKnoedler
Knoedler cases to investigate who should be blamed for neglecting to exercise due diligence
Court papers raise the question of who should have spotted fakes
ArchiveFakes & copies
Spanish brothers implicated in sale of fakes to Knoedler & Co to be extradited
Spain have consented to sending José Carlos and Jesús Ángel Bergantiños back to the US where they can be charged
ArchiveNews
Unesco warns of fraud as unsanctioned authentication documents circulate
The warning states that certificates of authentication allowing imports of African cultural heritage are being forged
ArchiveForgeries
Chain of custody ruling could change the legal landscape for art forgery cases in New York
Establishing the defendant is at fault just got that much trickier
ArchivePoly Auction Beijing
Poly Culture moves to reassure shareholders
Auction house addresses concerns over non-payment, forgeries and army links
ArchiveForgeries
Most Chinese paintings in the V&A are fake
Artist-forgers have fooled Chinese collectors for centuries, as museums in the West are now discovering
ArchiveForgeries
Fakes still on the market as Knoedler victims sue
New lawsuits filed after we publish list of those who bought forgeries—some of which have not been traced
ArchiveForgeries
Fake graffiti reach courts as forgeries on market increase
Man charged with selling works imitating US artist JonOne as genre’s popularity continues to grow
ArchiveForgeries
Russian avant-garde forgery case spreads to Israel
After hundreds of works are seized in Germany, police swoop in Tel Aviv
ArchiveChristie's
Christie’s pulls works from Latin American auction after ‘forgery’ concerns
Ten items from one collection withdrawn from New York auctions
ArchiveForgeries
Romero Britto and his dealers sued over forgeries
The artist is implicated in scheme, allegedly allowing fakes to circulate
ArchiveForgeries
How the detection of titanium white gave away Beltracchi
The pigment proved Beltracchi's version was inauthentic, since it was not in use at the time that the original was painted
ArchiveForgeries
Growth in internet sales forces fraud issue
Identifying forgeries being sold on websites is not enough to tackle the problem
ArchiveAuthentication
Not a Bacon, expert tells court: The debate around Bacon's drawings continues
The chairman of the artist’s catalogue raisonné committee dismisses controversial drawings as “pastiches” in UK bankruptcy hearing
ArchiveForgeries
Books: The fake’s progress from a sign of genius to a nefarious act... and back again
The history and scholarship of art forgery, and a faker’s delighted account of a life of deception
ArchiveKnoedler
Knoedler saga shows no sign of abating after last month's settlement as multiple suits remain unresolved
Several of the New York gallery's representatives have been indicted for engineering the sale of Abstract Expressionist forgeries
ArchiveForgeries
Victims of forgery are ‘left in limbo’ by legal proceedings
Recent high-profile trials mean collectors are wondering where to turn if they think they have fakes
ArchiveArt market
Was the Knoedler gallery warned about fakes?
The family of the artist Richard Diebenkorn says it alerted the gallery to fakes before they were sold
ArchiveForgeries
Indonesian tycoon Tong Djoe loses appeal in fake case
An Indonesian businessman has lost his appeal against claims that he sold a fake painting, according to reports in the Singapore press
ArchiveFakes & copies
Beltracchi admits to faking the work of an estimated 50 artists in German interview
In 2011, he was given six years jail time for what was then understood to be a much smaller number of reproductions
ArchiveForgeries
Fears grow that Greek art market is riddled with forgeries
A legal case brought against Sotheby’s by a major Greek collector could be the tip of the iceberg
ArchiveForgeries
Italian pop art forgery scandal widens as six more works are now being sought
Public prosecutor Giuseppe Ferrando pursues fakes tied to JZ Art gallery
ArchiveFakes & copies
Number of Beltracchi fakes keeps on rising
Fortunately for the German art forger, he has fled the country and therefore cannot be investigated
ArchiveForgeries
Knoedler forgery scandal grows
The gallery is being sued over an alleged fake Pollock, sold for $17m in 2007
ArchiveDecember 2011
True scale of alleged Beltracchi forgeries revealed
Major auction houses and galleries have been caught up in the fake art scam
ArchiveForgeries
Football star and former Formula 1 boss caught up in fakes case
Jonathan Zebina and Flavio Briatore deny knowing paintings may be forgeries
ArchiveForgeries
Four to go on trial in German “Werner Jäger” forgery case
Wolfgang Beltracchi, his wife Helene, her sister Jeanette, and Otto Schulte-Kellinghaus stand accused of selling high quality forgeries
ArchiveFakes & copies
Dealers named in Giacometti fraud case sentenced to two years' imprisonment as over 1,150 sculptures of dubious provenance surface
However, the two chief defendants must wait until all evidence has been seen before the verdict can be given
ArchiveNovember 2010
'Jesuit priest' donates fraudulent works
Academic museums and universities are being targeted by a suspected art forger
ArchiveOctober 2010
The source of infamous forger Van Meegeren’s secret supplies exposed
A Scotland Yard report shows that the notorious Dutch faker bought lapis lazuli paint for his “Vermeers” in bulk from Winsor & Newton
ArchiveForgeries
Australian forgeries to be destroyed
Fakes were purported to be by Charles Blackman and Robert Dickerson
ArchiveForgeries
Early copy of the Gospel of Mark is a forgery
US scholars, conservators and scientists collaborate to prove that a “14th-century manuscript” is a skilled fake
ArchiveV&A
Farewell to forgeries: The V&A’s Fakes Gallery to close
The V&A’s guidebook used to describe the Fakes Gallery as one of its “most diverse, intriguing and entertaining” displays.
ArchiveFebruary 2009
'Spanish Forger' miniatures bought by V&A
Scholars no nearer to finding the faker’s identity
ArchiveForgeries
New York- and Miami-based dealer Giuseppe Concepcion accused over multiple forgeries
Concepcion is alleged to have sold fake Matisses and Calders among others, complete with forged certificates of authenticity
ArchiveJanuary 2009
Design forgery ring uncovered in France
A Parisian artist produced fake 20th-century classics by Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Alexandre Noll and Pierre Chareau
ArchiveForgeries
Judge orders conclusion to case on the legitimacy of the ossuary which may have belonged to Jesus' half-brother
The forgery enquiry has lasted four years, so far
ArchiveForgeries
Can past nuclear explosions help detect forgeries?
The inventors of a new technique for dating paintings say it can prove whether a work was made before or after 1945
ArchiveForgeries
Another Banksy print fraud comes to light
The publisher of the artist’s works on paper issues warning over forgeries
ArchiveNews
Terracotta warriors on display in Hamburg deemed fake by Chinese authorities
Problems with their export and provenance seem to indicate the warriors are not quite what they seem
ArchiveArt market
“Fake” Picasso is warning to make deals formal
Court to rule on payment “held in trust”
ArchiveArt market
Warhol Brillo boxes could be fake
Allegations circulate that curator Pontus Hultén created unauthorised replicas
ArchiveMenashe Kadishman
Menashe Kadishman is first to discover the market is rife with fakes of his work
Artist leads the campaign to protect his work
ArchiveForgeries
Photographer Peter Beard sues over forgeries at Sotheby’s
“Crude and brazen forgeries” of the artist's work are popping up in the market
ArchiveMoscow
Russian art dealers released after a year in jail without trial
Couple claim that forgery accusations were the result of a property deal gone sour
ArchiveFakes & copies
Police search Montparnasse Museum in Modigliani fakes investigation
Up to 1,000 forged works are circulating on the market, says expert
ArchiveForgeries
Auction house faking incident spooks growing Hungarian art market
A leading collector believes many bogus works are circulating
ArchiveFakes & copies
Fake art: “Criminality in the Russian art market has reached alarming levels”
Tretyakov curator speaks out and admits being taken in by forgers
ArchiveForgeries
The FBI is looking for works faked by the Manhattan dealer Ely Sakhai
Is your painting on their website?
ArchiveForgeries
Five men charged in Jerusalem forgery case
They stand accused of faking an inscription on an antiquity for financial gain
ArchiveArt market
Warning about fairy paintings as fakes appear on the market
Forgeries inspired by the burgeoning popularity of the genre are becoming increasingly problematic
ArchiveForgeries
New York art dealer Ely Sakhai accused of forgery scam as he sells masterpieces twice
He has been released on bail, which was set at $1 million
ArchiveLetters
Delacroix fraud warning from catalogue raisonné author
Lee Johnson advises that false documentation bearing his name is being circulated
ArchiveForgeries
Abundance of sophisticated fakes in China causes widespread worries
“The forgeries business is in full swing”
ArchiveForgeries
Spanish art forgery network busted
Arrests followed an investigation sparked by the concerns of the Joan Miró Foundation
ArchiveForgeries
Jakarta auction proves to be “An insult to forgery”
Indonesia is a big country and everything about it is larger-than-life; its despots, its riots and, apparently, its art frauds
ArchiveFakes & copies
Ming and Qing Chinese ceramics: A flood of fakes from Jingdezhen
Forgers reportedly work to order from Sotheby’s catalogues
ArchiveParis
Creative forgeries bamboozle Paris art groupies
Fake invitations cause chaos, and the culprit remains on the lam
ArchiveOctober 1999
The Modernist fakes mountain: How many John Drewe forgeries remain unidentified
Nearly 200 paintings forged by John Drewe may be on the market. The Art Newspaper tracked down 40
ArchiveFakes & copies
Letters: Copies are not the same as forgeries, writes artist Michael Herstand
A defence of the Helion 'hoax'
ArchiveLawsuits
Top collector Werner Bokelberg suing for over $1.7 million-worth of “vintage” Man Ray prints
Magnificent Man Rays turn out to be too good to be true, throwing doubt over other collections of his work
ArchiveChristie's
Christie’s sale loses a probable half million over withdrawn paintings found to be fakes
Experts proved just before last year’s auction in New York that at least six paintings were recent forgeries
ArchiveForgeries
Forgery is fun for all: Exhibition at Nelson-Atkins Museum puts art of the ancient world put to the test
Visitors get to decide between fakes and the real thing
ArchiveAppraiser's conference
Fakes and forgeries at the Appraisers conference
“Trompe l’oeil: to fool the eye and to challenge the appraiser” is on in New York
ArchiveJuly 1994
The hunting and capture of two fakers: Mr and Mrs 'van den Bergen' arrested on forgery charges
Ali Baba’s cave of forgeries uncovered—the crucial evidence lay in the fake certificates
ArchiveForgeries
French association of Bronze-founders establish code of ethics
An attempt to combat the damage being caused by forgeries and unauthorised castings
ArchiveForgeries
French bronze founders propose action against forgery
Syndicat Général des Fondeurs de France decide on a code of conduct and a central register
ArchiveDecember 1991
Hebborn the fake: everything we learned from the forger's autobiography
By his own claim, his forged oeuvre numbers some 1,100 works ranging from “Mantegna” and “Giorgione” to “Van Dyck” and “Piranesi”
ArchiveForgeries
Matisse forgeries in the market is nothing new
Dealers fear more forged prints may emerge
CommentArt market
Why the catalogue raisonné is the forger's bible
An international conference considered the challenges and risks— not to mention the sheer size of publications
Georgina Adam