NewsArt market
'The law has to fall on someone': Seller of allegedly fake Frans Hals must pay Sotheby's $5.3m for cancelled sale, judge insists
Co-vendor of the painting, Fairlight Art Ventures had appealed the ruling last year but court upheld the decision yesterday, finding in favour of the auction house
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
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
NewsExhibitions
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
NewsLawsuits
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
NewsObituaries
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
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
NewsFakes & copies
Two US museums plan to investigate their Gauguins after amateur art sleuth says they are fake
French-born Gauguin enthusiast Fabrice Fourmanoir correctly identified a fake in the J. Paul Getty Museum’s earlier this year
AnalysisFakes & copies
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
NewsAntiquities
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
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
NewsExhibitions
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”
NewsJ. Paul Getty Museum
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
NewsCrime
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
NewsMuseums & Heritage
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
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
NewsGiuliano Ruffini
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
NewsLaw
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
NewsKnoedler
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
NewsArt market
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
NewsArt market
Two art dealers sentenced over 'fake-genuine' Rodin sculptures after 18 year legal battle
US-based Gary Snell and Paris dealer Robert Crouzet found guilty in French court of making and selling copies of works by the French sculptor
CommentCaravaggio
Discovery in a Toulouse attic is no Caravaggio
There are too many oddities in the painting discovered in France five years ago
NewsArt market
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
NewsMedia & broadcast
Dueling documentaries take aim at one of the biggest scams in recent art history
Three productions are due to examine the Knoedler forgery scandal
NewsAdolf Hitler
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
NewsFakes & copies
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
NewsArt market
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
NewsFakes & copies
Hitler watercolours seized as suspected fakes
Three landscapes signed A. Hitler were offered for sale at Berlin’s Auktionshaus Kloss
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
NewsAmedeo Modigliani
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”
NewsLaw
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
NewsFakes & copies
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"
PreviewExhibitions
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
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
NewsConservation & Preservation
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
NewsCopyright
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
NewsArt market
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"
NewsFakes & copies
French museum discovers more than half its collection is fake
Police in Perpignan have confiscated around 80 works originally attributed to painter Étienne Terrus
NewsArt Dubai 2018
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
NewsFakes & copies
The Art Newspaper's exposé helps close dubious Russian avant-garde art display in Ghent museum
Heirs of George Costakis, Naum Gabo and leading scholars disputed provenance claims of works on show at the Museum voor Schone Kunsten
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci is big business for Berlin copyists whose Salvator Mundi is in the pipeline
Russian brothers behind the replicas are planning a show of their Leonardo reproductions next year
NewsArt market
Collectors tackle rise in fake Modern Middle Eastern art
Dalloul Art Foundation investigates authenticity of some Middle Eastern works before museum opening
NewsLaw
Ann Freedman, former Knoedler director, settles final lawsuit
Ten cases were brought to court by collectors who purchased fakes through the gallery
News
Three men charged with selling fake Damien Hirst prints online for $400,000
Man recently imprisoned for similar scheme is among group accused of deceiving dozens of collectors around the world
NewsLaw
Lawsuit against art historian over fake Rothko settled out of court
The case against Oliver Wick was brought by the casino billionaire Frank Fertitta
NewsLaw
Michigan art dealer sentenced to 41 months for running Modern art forgery scheme
Eric Spoutz was charged with selling fake works purportedly by De Kooning, Kline and Mitchell, that netted him $1.45m
NewsLaw
Sotheby’s takes Mark Weiss to court over contested Frans Hals
The auction house has started proceedings in English High Court to recover its losses in the sale of a work that was deemed a forgery after technical testing
NewsKnoedler
No further jail time for Glafira Rosales for her role in $80m Knoedler forgery scandal
The Long Island dealer says she was abused and coerced into committing fraud by partner who fled to Spain
News
Forgery scandal surrounding Lee Ufan’s work grows in Korea with three arrests
The artist himself has denied that the works investigated by police are fakes
NewsFakes & copies
Serious doubts grow over Old Masters sold by Giulano Ruffini
US collector refunded by Sotheby’s after tests reveal modern materials in “Frans Hals” painting <br> <br>
NewsFakes & copies
The man at the centre of the Old Master fakes scandal
Sotheby's refunds buyer of Frans Hals once owned by Giulano Ruffini
NewsLaw
What we learned from the Knoedler fakes scandal
Collectors still in the dark even when experts have doubts as reports rarely published
NewsFakes & copies
ARCHIVE: Unauthenticated Bacon works on sale in London
Herrick Gallery is marketing two pastels and eight drawings said to be by the Irish-born artist
News
Smears, counterclaims and lawsuits—the tangled web surrounding Prince of Liechtenstein’s Cranach
Old Master works by Orazio Gentileschi, Frans Hals and Diego Velázquez drawn into dispute
News
Chinese artist retracts forgery claims about disputed Hairdressing paintings
In a letter to a lawyer, Geng Jianyi calls his previous dismissal of the works as authentic a “failure of memory”
NewsArt
Judgment against Max Ernst expert Werner Spies overturned in appeal
French court has reversed a decision fining the scholar for authenticating a fake work of art produced by Wolfgang Beltracchi
News
Knoedler Gallery settles lawsuit over fake Willem de Kooning
Collector John Howard bought the forgery from now defunct gallery for $4m
News
Could Leonardo’s Bella Principessa be Greenhalgh’s Bolton Sally?
Convicted UK forger claims to have faked the Renaissance drawing
News
Is it plagiarism or is it ‘shanzhai’?
Yayoi Kusama and Random International are latest victims of China’s copycats
NewsFakes & copies
Works of art to be tagged with DNA in bid to fight forgeries
Eric Fischl among the artists to support authentication system launched in London this week
NewsLaw
Knoedler fakes case will go to trial, judge orders
The gallery’s former director Ann Freedman will “tell her story”, her lawyer says
News
Three angry buyers quietly settle forgery cases with Knoedler
Six lawsuits over fake Abstract Expressionist works are ongoing while suspects in Spain face extradition
NewsBooks
A new book on the art of forgery is deceptively slick
Clare Finn asks: What is forgery without the forgers?
NewsFakes & copies
Backlash over claim that Egyptian geese were cooked up in 1800s
Museum director and former antiquities minister refute Italian archaeologist’s theory
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
ArchiveFakes & copies
Looting in the Middle East encourages fakes and forgeries
Modern art targeted as the originals go missing
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
ArchiveKazimir Malevich
Disputes in Russia concerning the authenticity of many works attributed to Malevich circulating the Russian art market
As a major Malevich show opens in London, claims grow that the avant-garde market is still plagued by the 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
ArchiveFakes & copies
Painting due to be removed from museum wins reprieve after tests prove it is a genuine Old Master
Not fake, but ‘tarted up’
ArchiveNews
‘Lost Raphael’ surfaces in Spain
The University of Granada says it has found an authentic copy of Raphael’s Madonna of Foligno
NewsExhibitions
More questions than answers after ‘miraculous’ Russian avant-garde show
Specialists express concern about lack of provenance for works by artists including Rodchenko and Goncharova in Italian exhibition
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
ArchiveKnoedler
Names of buyers deceived by Knoedler Gallery fakes disclosed
The document details museums, art dealers and private collectors who have brought charges against the gallery and its disgraced director
ArchiveDecember 2013
British Museum expert says griffin returned to Iran is fake
Scepticism grows about confiscated silver vessel handed over by the US as an act of diplomacy
NewsKnoedler
More victims of Abstract Expressionist fakes scandal revealed
In court documents, Knoedler lists the buyers and prices paid for works brought to the gallery by Glafira Rosales
NewsKnoedler
New allegations in Knoedler fakes case examine gallerys finances
The gallery would have been operating at a major loss without the sale of works brought by Rosales, collectors say in amended complaints
ArchiveFrancis Bacon
Bacon estate says lover’s brother sold fakes
New details emerge in British courts about disputed drawings that first emerged in Italy
ArchiveKnoedler
Who sued whom: A comprehensive timeline of the Knoedler lawsuits
How a forgery scandal brought about the downfall of New York's most prestigious gallery
ArchiveFakes & copies
AbEx fakes scandal silences the experts, situation “already as bad as it can get” amid lawsuits
In a time of increased importance on authentication, specialists are holding back in the hope of avoiding the worst.
ArchiveFakes & copies
Why the fakes scandals at Knoedler and Beltracchi will not affect the market
Despite what one would initially believe
ArchiveFakes & copies
National Institute of Independent Expertise founded to root out fakes in Russian art market
The organisation, the brainchild of coin collector Vladimir Kazakov and The East European Auction house, aims to ensure that the provenance of a piece has been checked via an unbiased system
ArchiveForgeries
Russian avant-garde forgery case spreads to Israel
After hundreds of works are seized in Germany, police swoop in Tel Aviv
ArchiveLeonardo da Vinci
Leonardo copy undergoes restoration at Musée National de la Renaissance
A little-known copy of Leonardo’s The Last Supper by Marco d’Oggiono will get a thorough clean
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
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
ArchiveFakes & copies
Scholars absent from State Hermitage Museum conference with controversial Degas bronzes on the agenda
Experts have been silenced by fears of legal action if doubts regarding the sculptures' legitimacy are voiced
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
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
ArchiveLawsuits
Dealer Gary Tatintsian takes Lew Nussberg to court over fake Malevich drawings after scientific analysis
The case has proved to be colourful, with Tatintsian counter suing Nussberg for at least $62m
ArchiveMarch 2012
Arrest in latest Prouvé fakes case
Three dealers say initial complaints were dismissed by Artcurial specialists
ArchiveAlberto Giacometti
Dealer uses intimidation tactics at Parisian Giacometti foundation in mission to recover forged lamps
Policy decrees that works determined to be fake must be handed over to the authorities so that they cannot re-enter the market
ArchiveFakes & copies
Police investigate allegedly fake photographs sold at Artcurial Deauville
The works were supposedly from the artist’s family and "rediscovered"
CommentHeritage
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
John Darlington