The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-04-26
ARTISTIC FORGERIEs.
The Manufacture and Sale of Spurious
Productions.
I,0ndOn Mail.

London Mail.
Not merely paintings.aas was pointed out
by Mr.. MacWhirter, r. A."-but almost
every conceivable form of fine art partic-
ulariy the ANTIQUE, has it's countless mod
ern counterfeits.
London and Paris TEEN with men who
have amassed thousands Of pounds by
palming off as genuine clever limitations of
pictures, furniture. brasses, china and OF
the hundred and one things for the collec-
ton of which there happens to be pre-
vailing craze. The less reputable art deal
ers and many so-caled experts will insure.
however great the demand, that the supply
shall be equal to Ii.
One of the leading London art dealers
yesterday expressed himself thoroughly
satisfied with the exposure of the frauds.
He thinks that, far from being harmful to
the trade, the exposure can only be bene-
fetal to the reliable dealer, since in selling
a work OF art at high figure he practically
holds himself morally responsible for its
authenticity. The bargain hunter will be-
gin to see the dangers of buying from OBJ
scure sources, and will have to turn to the
expert dealer if he wants to acquire objects
that are beyond dispute.
OF recent years small antique shops have
sprung up all over London and in many
provincial towns. They are frequently
planted in the meanest neighborhoods, and
occasionally a genuine piece OF old furnl-
ture or an old print may be picked up
But for the most part these shops are
packed with the spurious products OF the
antique" manufacturers.
Within a stones throw of Tottenham
Court road there are workshops employing
hundreds of hands in the production of an
tique furniture-Sheraton, Hepplewhite,
Chippendale, Empire, Queen Anne. Louis
QuinZe Louis Seize, marqueterie or any
other style that may be the fashion of the
moment. The ,workpeople. who are chiefly
foreigners include among them artists of
no mean ability. In Manchester there is
an ''old English" oak furniture manufac-
tory where Elizabethan or Jacobean chests,
settles and the like are turned out to order.
These modern antiquities find their way
into many auction marts, and the unsus-
pecting collector must possess considerable
knowledge of the subject and no little intu-
ition If he is to avoid the many snares laid
for him. The auctioneer or dealer Is careful
not to guarantee the genuineness OF what
he offers The conditions of sale" always
include some such wording this
Goods to be paid for, whether genuine
and authentic or not, the vendors not be-
ing responsible for the correct description
or authenticity of any lot. and making no
warranty whatever"
The private dealer safeguards himself by
telling the purchaser that he himself
bought the article as a genuine antique.
In regard to paintings, there is known to
exist ring of experts, or connoisseurs,
fly, even on the Himsiest evidence, as to the
authenticity of reputed works by great
masters. But the best judges of pictures
are often honestly deceived, and even the
artists themselves have been known to re-
pudiate their own works. A few years ago
a canvas was sent by West End picture
dealer TO a celebrated animal painter, WIN
the usual fee for a certificate Of anthem
ITCHY. The artist disowned ii, but when
the same painting submitted to him
by another firm some time later he signed
1t as genuine.
1t was not long ago that another West
End firm of dealers bought what was be-
lieved to be a Constable for 94,000 and dis
posed of 1t again for something like 10000
to a well-known peer, who not unnaturally
was greatly surprised shortly afterwards
at the pronouncement of skilled connois-
seur that the painting was not Constable
at all, but very clever forgery. Legal
proceedings followed but the case was set
tied out OF court. 1t appeared, however,
that the alleged Constable had been painted
| in the north of England, and was originally
sold at a well-known London auction mart
for ESQ.
The great difficulty of detecting spurious
deceased masters often lies in the fact
that they have been painted by contempt
rary artists OF no mean ability, or by a gal
| lery artist" who has been copying the
! same pictures for so many years that he
| has asSimilated, Ii were, the atmosphere
| Of his surroundings and acquired, by long
! force of habit, the touch OF the brush that
enables him to reproduce the master with
startling veracity.
| America-where antiQue-hunting million
aires spring up almost daily and where
new picture galleries are constantly being
formed on the "while-you-wait" principle
| Is the dumping ground Of great number
of these forgeries.