{"id":6293,"date":"2022-12-27T23:10:08","date_gmt":"2022-12-27T21:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.keil-collection-heidelberg.de\/fake-or-fortune-a-market-flooded-with-art-forgeries\/"},"modified":"2022-12-27T23:12:59","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T21:12:59","slug":"fake-or-fortune-a-market-flooded-with-art-forgeries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.keil-collection-heidelberg.de\/en\/fake-or-fortune-a-market-flooded-with-art-forgeries\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake or Fortune – A market flooded with art forgeries?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The art market<\/strong> has been extremely dynamic for many years, even the pandemic could not break this dynamic, auction houses are recording record sales. More and more new target groups are finding their way to art, be it through new distribution channels or through extraordinary events.<\/p>\n\n

Unfortunately, this boom also has its dark side. Where there is a lot of money at stake, the demimonde is also easy to find.<\/p>\n\n

Headlines such as the one about Inigo Philbrick<\/strong>,<\/a>\u00a0a London art dealer who obtained over $86 million<\/strong> through various fraudulent practices, or Wolfgang Beltracchi<\/strong> – also dubbed the German master forger, prove what insiders are already familiar with: the art market is certainly not only made up of philanthropic gentlemen talking in the finest Oxford English about current trends and the art-historical significance of the avant-garde – there are plenty of black sheep!<\/p>\n\n

The case surrounding New York’s oldest art gallery Knoedler<\/strong> reveals that even seemingly established institutions need to be critically reflected upon and that even the former chairman of the world’s top-selling auction house – Dominico De Sole – privately fell for an art forgery. The publication of the Knoedler scandal, in which more than $80 million worth<\/strong> of fake artworks were sold, has now also drawn the attention of the mass media to the non-transparent market mechanisms and brought the Netflix documentary “Made you look” to light.<\/p>\n\n

However, the problems mentioned are not only to be found in the field of “blue chip art”.\u00a0Hubertus Butin<\/strong> – expert in the field of art forgeries and art historical assistant to Gerhard Richter – describes in his book “Kunstf\u00e4lschungen – Das betr\u00fcgliche Objekt der Begierde” (Art Forgeries – The Fraudulent Object of Desire) that an estimated 50 per cent<\/strong> of the art prints on the market are forgeries and that most forgeries occur in the low thousands, as auction houses, galleries and collectors do not look that closely here. How do the authorities react to this state of affairs? Auction houses are usually not liable, art dealers themselves have been deceived and the forgers themselves produce abroad.<\/p>\n\n

But how can private individuals continue to enjoy art and participate in this exciting market without falling for forgeries or even promoting them?\u00a0The Keil Collection Heidelberg has spoken to experts from various areas of the art market and they all agree on one point:<\/p>\n\n

Ask, research, keep calm and ask again!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Before buying any art, the seller should be asked in detail about the so-called provenance<\/strong> of the work.\u00a0How and when did it come into his possession?\u00a0Has it already been presented to experts?\u00a0What should be done if it subsequently turns out to be a forgery?<\/strong>\u00a0A renowned Berlin art dealer has given the Keil Collection some important advice: “Hands off time-critical offers \u00e0 la the estate has to be sold in the next few days – we don’t have time to examine the works. People who have an interest in the honest sale of their art will also be able to be patient for a few days”.<\/p>\n\n

And what does this have to do with Peter Robert Keil?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Well – a large number of paintings and other objects by PETER ROBERT KEIL<\/strong>, whom we hold in high esteem, can also be found on the internet. And the inclined collector has been asking himself or herself for a long time:<\/p>\n\n