Quote:
Originally Posted by Paper_Amar
Con men? Sounds interesting.. care to give us details?
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http://ask.metafilter.com/43249/Art-...-Possibly-Dali
"I don't even have to look at the picture to tell you that it's probably fake.
In the late 80s my father was a lawyer in somewhat famous legal case (well, famous in the art world) that detailed how Dali was complicit in his own forgeries. Basically what he would do is sign pieces of blank canvas and then sell those to others who would then either do their best to copy his work or to create originals in his style. Dali was as crafty a businessman as he was talented an artist (I know, I know, there are many Dali haters out there, but just run with me on this).
Anyway, long story short, I would never buy anything that is supposedly done by Dali because really, no one can tell what is real and what is fake. Okay, that's a bit of an overstatement, but it's definitely extremely hard and debatable.
Also, I should say that I'm referring almost solely to prints of his, not original paintings.
From Lee Catterall's book about my father's case:
Don't be fooled by Dali's signature on a print. He signed thousands of blank sheets of paper that later were used to reproduce Dali images, usually paintings. More often, his signature was forged on such reproductions. He signed his name in so many ways that experts are at a loss in verifying an authentic Dali signature. Before buying any Dali print, also consider Dali's Abuses, which constituted overt participation more than mere facilitation, in the manufacture of hundreds of thousands "limited edition" prints bearing his name and his surrealistic images. While many of the paintings are authentic works of Dali, they have been reproduced in numerous "limited editions" and sold as "original" lithographs, etchings, etc. The painting most commonly reproduced for such fraudulent purposes was Lincoln in Dalivision, "prints" of which Los Angeles art appraiser Dena Hall testified in the Hawaii trial have become as commonplace as "pancakes at the pancake house." Other favorite Dali paintings used as models by the print fakers were Corpus Hypercubicus, Metamorphosis of Narcissus and Hallucinogenic Toreador. Dali assuredly did not participate in fraudulent prints bearing his name and images that were not his, which are referred to as "fake fakes" and are far less numerous than fakes based on Dali's actual paintings.
posted by Cochise at 11:53 AM on July 29 [3 favorites]"