Fakes & copies

‘Clearly a copy from the 19th century’—Old Masters scholars reject AI-attributed Raphael

The so-called de Brécy Tondo has in the past been assumed to be a Victorian copy

Was a Vienna auction's €6,000 'copy' of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling actually by Michelangelo?

My heart-stopping research saga to find out if Dorotheum’s part-painted cartoon by a "follower" was in fact a sleeper

Crime news

Following his arrest in Italy, Old Master forgery suspect Giuliano Ruffini is turned over to French authorities

After seven years of investigations, Ruffini has been handed over to French authorities, likely setting the stage for a trial in Paris

Suspected Old Master forger Giuliano Ruffini is arrested in Italy after turning himself in

The 77-year-old, wanted by French police for "fraud, money laundering and forgery of works of art", was released after ten days in custody

Vermeer at the National Gallery in Washington, DC declared not the real thing

The downgrading follows a study of the six paintings in the museum's collection thought to be by the Dutch master, which are now the subject of an exhibition detailing the findings

What’s with dictators and bad art?

Imelda Marcos is just one of a series of despots with appalling taste

Crime news

Trial begins for Spanish museum director accused of spending €3.4m on forged works

Consuelo Císcar, the former director of the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, is said to have bought works attributed to Gerardo Rueda—but that were painted by his son

Tate’s Tahitian Gauguin is suspected fake

Catalogue raisonné rejects unusual part-painting, part-sketch, as expert says the “colonial” nature of the composition is not the artist’s style

New York dealer arrested for selling ‘cookie cutter’ manufactured goods as authentic antiquities

Investigators found thousands of fakes, as well as tools and materials used to make them seem ancient, in rooms near Sadigh Gallery’s Fifth Avenue showroom

Art marketinterview

‘I don’t touch contemporary art—it’s a gamble’: 102-year-old appraiser Alex Rosenberg on how deducing value is both a science and an art

Rosenberg, who has been an expert witness in court cases including the Knoedler trial, retrained as an appraiser when he retired as an art dealer in 1985

Dealer admits to marketing fraudulent Indigenous wood carvings to Canadian museums and galleries

Works by a non-Indigenous artist known as Harvey John were sold at museum gift shops and galleries as authentic Haida artworks

Mexican man arrested by FBI for attempting to sell allegedly fake works by Basquiat and Haring

Angel Pereda was offering paintings and sculptures by the artists to auction houses in New York

Podcastspodcast

Old Masters meet Brutalism: inside Frick Madison in New York

Plus, the story of a notorious forger and artist Collier Schorr on August Sander

Hosted by Ben Luke. with guest speaker Vincent Noce. Produced by Julia Michalska, David Clack, Aimee Dawson and Henrietta Bentall
NFTcomment

The NFT craze encapsulates the absurdity of the art world—and its obsession with authenticity

Why would someone buy a non-fungible token of a rainbow-toting cat, which already exists in millions of identical copies?

Undeterred by claims of inauthenticity, Christie's Pre-Columbian sale will go ahead tomorrow

"Christie’s has not been provided with any evidence that would challenge the lawfulness of this sale," a representative says

'The law has to fall on someone': Seller of allegedly fake Frans Hals must pay Sotheby's $5.4m for cancelled sale, judge insists

London Court of Appeal upholds the auction house's defence in forgery case, rejecting appeal by investment company Fairlight Art Ventures

Two Van Gogh fakes in Washington? Strong evidence produced against early drawings at the National Gallery of Art

Revelations in new book about an attic discovery throw fresh light on Vincent’s decision to become an artist

a blog by Martin Bailey
Heritagecomment

Confronting the allure, and the dangers, of 'fake heritage'

Monetary gain is one reason people create counterfeit heritage—but political power, personal fame or the imposition of beliefs are equally compelling motivations

Original or fake? Museum Ludwig puts its Russian avant-garde art to the test

New exhibition reveals 22 falsely attributed works discovered in German museum's collection

Insurers fight $107m claim for Modigliani paintings seized by Italian police

A US dealer says he is owed millions by insurance brokers for 12 works that were confiscated by authorities from the Palazzo Ducale in 2017 as suspected fakes

Forrest Fenn, known for burying $2m worth of treasure in the Rocky Mountains, dies at 90

The controversial yet colourful Santa Fe-based art and antiquities dealer announced that his treasure had been found shortly before his death

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

Two US museums plan to investigate their Gauguins after amateur art sleuth says they are fake

Former Tahitian resident Fabrice Fourmanoir helped The Art Newspaper correctly identify a fake in the Getty Museum's collection earlier this year

Experts weigh in on alleged art forgery ring in Michigan

Art historians explain why the work of lesser known artists with rising markets, like George Copeland Ault and Gertrude Abercrombie, might become the target of a fakes scheme

Two trunkloads of fake Iraqi antiquities seized by UK customs

The international market is now “absolutely awash” with forgeries, says British Museum curator who examined the hoard

Podcastspodcast

Can new tech recreate the hand of an Old Master?

Plus, Sophie Matisse on her great-grandfather Henri. Produced in association with Christie's

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by Julia Michalska, David Clack and Aimee Dawson

Aggressive seizures by police at Brafa leave dealers feeling ‘assaulted’

Authorities brazenly took 34 artefacts during public opening hours at the Brussels fair