Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1922-12-01

""S" S"o"s 'ohoehcy 10 l1nouiah
indshnitsly-Amsricans Know More
About Art Than They Used to, and
Therefore No Logger Rely Upon
Their Own Judnment-Even the
Newly Rich Are Not cauahs by Fakes.
Most OF EurOpe's industries are rap
Idly regaining their pre-war strength
but there Is one which shows !; ten.
den'y To anguish indefinitely. That
Is he business ~ manufacturing old
masters To sell To American collectors
1t isn't being successfully done his
season
Since the war So many genuine l::as
i"rrlr""S have been placed Oh the Mar.
kct by the Impoverished nobility of
Europe that Americans have learned
I" be faSiidi"u>. \ paiAtin" has to
have exceptional merit before they
Will show any interest i'm il. At the
same time. such Il tremendous flood Of
TAX" paintings and other art objects
has been let loose in Europe that they
have learned To be cautious. They are
extremely loath to buy unless the
goods have been guaranteed by Il jury
OF experts.
Thus. the reports recently circulated
about Paris that Americans were buy
ing fake BoticcliS by the dozen is
characterized as absurd by New
York nrt dealer
''If this were So" he declared. "our
~ ~ 4,
sae such instance has been brought to
our attention. No freshly painted
RoticelliS are being sold anywhere. The
appearance Of age cannot be copied
and fakes OF such description could
hardly be palmcd of on the sheereet
novice. Until recent; many copies
and fakes have been offered here as
genuine old masters. but they were
nearly all ancir"t ,opieS. or old pie.
lures wrongly attributed to famous
painters. Most of them were offered
In GOOD faith. There is no marker 70,
them. cOrOts nave been faxed l.y the
hundred. bat purchasers are very rare
in this country Today, for art works Of
dubious value"
S'SN''s europeans.
This i partly because Americans
know more about art than they used
/" and therefore no longer rely upon
their own Judgment. Even our newl"-
rich have heard so much about their
"w.I Gullibiity that they will not MAKE
a purchase without being assured By
the best possible evidence that pie
ture is genuine. The new millionaire
class OF Europe. on the other hand, Is
not $" lacking in confidence. and IL is
from this domestic source that the
European dealers in fake objects Of
art are now reaping their best profits
During the war this was especially
noticeable. Everybody who made q
cool million or two out Of a war con.
tract Immediately went In for art. But
as soon as the conflict was over many
who had spent their money Az fast
az they made 1t. were anxious to real.
ize on what they believed to be their
art treasures. They sent them over
70 this country. Upon expert exam.
ination such collections usually turned
out to he Of little value, SO that the
rious works Of art. For awhile the
entire trade was thrown into = panic.
and II was almost impossible to dis
pose Of genuine, as no American col
lector or art dealer was willing to rake
chance.
TO make the situation worse, IT wns
found that paintings which were sent
ly nf
tinEuished families Of Europe were
fakes. Most Of these had been in the
possession OF a single fnmily for gen.
erations and had beer assigned by ira.
dition 10 great artists. Their authen-
ITCHY was 80 taken for granted, that
they probably had never been submit
ted to experts. But when they came
to he examined over here il was dis.
covered than many supposed REM
brandtS. NaIaSquezes and Titians were
merely early copies of those painters
or works by contemporaries which
had been Incorrectly. attributed to the
great artists.
While this heavy bombardment OF
fakes was going on. American dealers
were over in Europe attending auction
sales and quietly buying mp some of
the worlds greatest art treasures.
They had to pay enormous prices. II
Is true, hut they paid them for the
real thing.
Americans Wiser Now.
Your American collectors have
learned, remarked prominent mem
Der OF a British art society recently.
They are now very astute collectors.
who know precisely what they want,
and can afford to pay the price. They
are vastly different from those who
used to come to buy our pictures just