By NICK SMITH
John Perry owns a beautiful Gauguin painting that he absolutely adores.
It's exactly the same as the $10 million Gauguin held in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, but his Gauguin only cost a few bob.
The former Rotorua Museum curator loves fakes; he collects forgeries as a hobby, a practice he calls "perverse pleasure."
"I almost bought a Mona Lisa. I have a number of Mona Lisas but this one was an oil painting of approximately the original size."
He is also thinking of buying a signed C.F. Goldie that is on sale for a song. It's not a "real" Goldie, of course, it's the work of notorious art forger Karl Sim, who changed his name by deed poll to Carl Feodor Goldie following his conviction for painting facsimiles of the master's work.
Perry believes it is Karl Sim who is behind the mysterious Rangitoto painting attributed to Gauguin (Sim has since denied responsibility) that was unveiled and for sale last weekend at an Auckland gallery.
The Rangitoto painting's authenticity (or otherwise) has yet to be resolved but since New Zealand art is so "young," the country does not have a long history of art forgery.
"You don't see a lot but they are out there," says Perry. "People are confused about what constitutes an original work of art.
"A poor chap in Te Aroha thought he had a Monet when in fact it was a good-quality textured print."
Indeed, families who discover a family heirloom gathering dust in the attic often make that mistake. Each year, the Auckland City Art Gallery receives about half a dozen paintings by anyone from Constable to Goldie from individuals seeking authentication.
Principal conservator Sarah Hillary says these are not forgeries per se but merely quality prints.
Auctioneer Peter Webb has only had to reimburse buyers on a couple of occasions during his 40 years in the business but turns away fakes every year. Buyers who unwittingly buy fakes would be protected under the Fair Trading Act, he says.
"Karl Sim's fakes are always obvious. We've turned away quite a few of his works and I don't think many of them would have fooled experts," says Webb.
"A very sophisticated forgery is hard to pick. Quite a few forged paintings, quite sophisticated, originating in Australia, are turning up." As prices for New Zealand works increase, so will the number of forgeries turning up, he says.
"I haven't seen a [quality fake] McCahon as yet but it's only a matter of time."
Sarah Hillary agrees, saying the onus is on the dealer and "if they are not sure about what they are selling, they shouldn't say what it is."
She says a painter's technique or the use of materials such as plywood immediately betrays a fake but a searching examination is needed to uncover quality forgery.
"[With Goldie], I'm sure I could tell the difference quite quickly: Goldie stuck to the same technique over and over and used the same pigments. That made it easier.
"But when it comes to proving [authenticity], it can be quite a difficult thing."
Experts look at the cross-section of the paint, the materials used and the method of construction, and x-rays can reveal the presence of the titanium dioxide used by early masters, she says.
Contemporary forgeries are more problematic as there are fewer physical clues to betray dubious origins.
Probably history's most successful forger, and certainly the most romantic, was Dutchman van Meegeren (1880-1947) who foisted a number of fake Dutch master Johannes Vermeer's works on an unsuspecting art world.
His subterfuge was only uncovered in 1946 when he was put on trial for collaborating with the Nazis after he swapped a fake Vermeer for the return of 200 Dutch originals from Hermann Goering.
He cleared himself of the collaboration charge by creating, in court, an "original" Vermeer. However, he was convicted of fraud as a result and sentenced to imprisonment but died before serving his sentence.
John Perry says that buyers must be careful buying work, particularly when works are unsigned but still attributed to an artist.
"Fakes, generally speaking, aren't common but they are out there and they pop up in the most curious places.
"Sooner or later there will be a Fomison or a McCahon. It's just a matter of being very careful."
But he says that people should not be discouraged from coming forward with heirlooms that they believe might be a Gauguin or a Monet. One family recently came forward with a painting that turned out to be by English artist George Chinnnery, and sold for $300,000, he says.
"Good art commands good prices and it doesn't matter where it's from. Get it checked out by a reputable dealer and seek a second or third opinion," he recommends.
Gauguin case shows difficulty in spotting forgery
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