art forgery

Fraudulent painting scheme

Art forgery is the creation or alteration of artwork with intent to deceive—passing off a fake as genuine, usually for profit.

The term covers everything from paintings falsely attributed to old masters to sculptures with forged signatures.

A successful art forgery exploits gaps in provenance and the difficulty of authenticating works: The Vermeer turned out to be an art forgery.

The practice has plagued the art world for centuries.

Opposites
authenticity

art forgerygenuine article

Authentic original item

period piece · primary source

creative originality

art forgeryoriginal composition

Freshly created artistic piece

creative expression · masterpiece · magnum opus

intent and ethics

art forgeryart restoration

Repairing deteriorated creative works

art conservation · art authentication · art preservation · art scholarship · art appraisal

Family

art, forgery

Familiarity
Top 100,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G