Russian Art Forgery Shock

The discovery of forged paintings and the arrests last month of a Moscow art dealer and her husband are raising concern among collectors that fakes are inundating the profitable and fast-growing Russian art market. The couple denies the charges. They say they were framed by an organized crime group. Police are investigating 10 paintings considered forgeries that were together priced at more than $2 million. What is unnerving collectors is that one of the fakes has an authenticity certificate signed by an expert at the Grabar Art Conservation Center, a prominent state institution. Russia’s art market has estimated annual sales of between $700 million and $1.5 billion. Criminals are increasingly buying artworks by little-known 19th-century European painters cheaply, bringing them back to Russia, and making changes that include removing the original signature and replacing it with a Russian artist’s signature. For the full story - click the title Irish Art