Fakes and forgeries
A tangled mess: Canadian forgery scandal comes into full public view
An exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery grapples with how the museum ended up with ten fake works previously attributed to J.E.H. MacDonald, a member of the famous Group of Seven
Washington State man sentenced to two years in prison for passing off more than $1m worth of fakes as Alaska Native art
He even hired Alaska Natives as clerks in his stores as part of the ruse, and will serve the longest sentence on record for violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act
Auctioneer, who admitted he helped make fake Basquiats seized by the FBI, avoids jail time
Michael Barzman will pay a fine, do community service and be on probation for his role in the forgery scandal
Orlando Museum of Art sues its former director over Basquiat forgery scandal
According to the lawsuit, Aaron De Groft stood to benefit from the eventual sale of the fake Basquiats—and planned subsequent shows of works purportedly by Titian and Pollock
Artist who falsely claimed Native American heritage sentenced to 18 months’ probation
The Seattle-based artist had pleaded guilty to violating the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act
A series of recent lawsuits could change the way UK museums acquire works for their collections
Disputed attribution claims rarely play out in court, but two recent legal cases could provide valuable lessons for acquisitions teams at cultural institutions across the UK
Palm Beach art dealer pleads guilty to selling counterfeit blue-chip art
Daniel Elie Bouaziz was accused of selling fake works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Jean-Michel Basquiat
Genesis of Phil Collins’s collection of Alamo artefacts questioned ahead of museum opening
A new public exhibition hall is mired in controversy over the provenance of the musician’s collection of relics related to the Alamo in Texas
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
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
Former trustees of Florida museum claim they were kept unaware of FBI’s interest in allegedly fake Basquiats
Trustees who say they were summarily dismissed over email as retaliation claim that the board chair concealed information about an FBI subpoena months before the Basquiat exhibition opened
Tests reveal secrets of four Vermeer paintings—including their authenticity—in Washington, DC show
The National Gallery of Art has carried out scientific tests on the works, finding fascinating discoveries beneath the paint
Indigenous Canadian artists pressure government to curtail sales of counterfeit First Nations art
Imports of artworks manufactured abroad to replicate Indigenous Canadian styles are not currently regulated
What’s with dictators and bad art?
Imelda Marcos is just one of a series of despots with appalling taste
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
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
Two artists face federal charges for faking Indigenous heritage
The Washington-based artists have been charged with claiming enrollment in Indigenous tribes, violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act
Facebook profits by aiding scammers as they mimic and rip off artists' work
Fraudsters are using Facebook to dupe people into buying artists’ works at bargain-bucket prices while supplying cheap knock-offs
Hundreds of Andy Warhol fakes, and one original drawing worth $20k, sold for $250 each
The art collective MSCHF has shuffled an original Warhol with 1,000 identical works, with any record of the original piece destroyed
Secrets and lies: the role of restorers in art crime
Regulation of the conservation profession may be a start, but can it quash the “ego” that often motivates restorers-turned-forgers?
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
California man admits to selling over $1m in forged art, purportedly by Richard Hambleton and Barkley Hendricks
Jason Harrington pleaded guilty to selling phony paintings to at least 15 galleries and individuals between 2018 and 2020
'Cranach' painting of Venus at centre of Old Masters fakes scandal must be returned to Prince of Liechtenstein, court rules
Seized as part of a forgery investigation, the work has been fully studied and must no longer be kept as evidence
Hermitage director responds to accusations of fakery in Fabergé exhibition
Mikhail Piotrovsky addresses London dealer Andre Ruzhnikov’s claims that the Russian exhibition includes ‘tawdry fakes’
Old Masters meet Brutalism: inside Frick Madison in New York
Plus, the story of a notorious forger and artist Collier Schorr on August Sander
Surrealist collection of Man Ray's assistant sells out at Christie's despite 'serious concerns about ownership' of most of the works
Ahead of yesterday's sale in Paris, the Man Ray Trust called for a delay claiming that Lucien Treillard “stole a substantial number of Man Ray’s works and possessions"
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?
Expert warned Getty Museum that its newly purchased Gauguin sculpture was a fake, new article reveals
The Los Angeles institution confirmed the work was not authentic last year