Forgeries

Auctioneer admits he helped create fake Basquiats seized by FBI in museum raid

Michael Barzman, who formerly ran an auction company that bought and resold the contents of storage lockers, said in plea agreement that he and another man made and sold 20 to 30 fake Basquiats

Canadian police uncover 'biggest art fraud in world history'

Eight suspects are arrested and more than 1,000 works seized following investigation into forgeries of paintings by the Ojibwe artist Norval Morrisseau

Crime news

Suspected Old Master forger Giuliano Ruffini—wanted by French police—cannot be found

The French dealer, who is under investigation for selling a series of allegedly forged paintings, has had a warrant out for his arrest since 2019

Russians are selling art to fund the war in Ukraine—and not all of it appears to be real

An allegedly fake Kandinsky and NFTs of Ukrainian cities' coats of arms are among the works being offered to support Putin's aggression

When an art forger becomes an artist

More than a decade after his unusual forgery scheme came to light, Mark Landis discusses his artistic origins and Manhattan solo exhibition

NFTnews

Counterfeit NFTs are creating major problems for digital platforms—but new tools to spot fakes are on the rise

Image recognition and data scraping technology are increasingly being used by the NFT community to protect intellectual property online

Art marketanalysis

A swindler’s playground: why is the art market so appealing to fraudsters?

Indian antiquities dealer Monson Mavunkal is currently in custody following a string of fraud allegations, including trying to sell a walking stick he said belonged to Moses. But he is not the first con artist to target the art world

Seller contests having to repay Sotheby’s for allegedly forged Frans Hals

In latest hearing of ongoing legal saga, Fairlight Art Ventures, co-vendor of painting sold in 2011 for $10.75m, is refusing to pay auction house more than $5.3m

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

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"

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

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

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

Art marketcomment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lost artfeature

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

Art marketcomment

Art authentication is not an exact science

The process of art attribution has come under attack, with forgery scandals rampant

Art marketinterview

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

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

Lawnews

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

Malevich painting in Düsseldorf state collection exposed as forgery

Expert studies reveal Black Rectangle, Red Square was produced after 1950

Collectors tackle rise in fake Modern Middle Eastern art

Dalloul Art Foundation investigates authenticity of some Middle Eastern works before museum opening

Tim Cornwell. , additional reporting by Anna Brady