Forgeries | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/forgeries/RSS feed for ForgeriesenWed, 29 Apr 2026 21:26:09 +0000A Father and Daughter Forged More Than 200 Artworks by Warhol, Banksy, Picasso and Others—and Sold Them for $2 Millionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-father-and-daughter-forged-more-than-200-artworks-by-warhol-banksy-picasso-and-others-and-old-them-for-2-million-180988641/The New Jersey residents, who face up to 20 years in prison, commissioned an artist in Poland to create the fakes. They got special penalties for forging paintings by Native American artistsWed, 29 Apr 2026 21:26:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-father-and-daughter-forged-more-than-200-artworks-by-warhol-banksy-picasso-and-others-and-old-them-for-2-million-180988641/This Forgery Ring Tried to Sell a Fake Rembrandt for $150 Million. The Real Painting Is Hanging in an Amsterdam Museumhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-forgery-ring-tried-to-sell-fake-rembrandt-for-150-million-the-real-painting-is-hanging-in-an-amsterdam-museum-180987589/The conspirators claimed that their canvas was the original, while the Rijksmuseum's was an inferior copy. They also marketed forgeries of works by Picasso, Frida Kahlo and moreWed, 29 Oct 2025 14:55:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-forgery-ring-tried-to-sell-fake-rembrandt-for-150-million-the-real-painting-is-hanging-in-an-amsterdam-museum-180987589/This Amateur Art Detective Thinks Paul Gauguin's Last Self-Portrait Is a Fakehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-amateur-art-detective-thinks-paul-gauguins-last-self-portrait-is-a-fake-180986645/The new allegations come from Fabrice Fourmanoir, who previously identified a fraudulent Gauguin sculpture that the Getty Museum had purchased for $5 millionTue, 20 May 2025 18:00:36 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-amateur-art-detective-thinks-paul-gauguins-last-self-portrait-is-a-fake-180986645/Art Dealer Arrested for Trying to Sell a Fake Leonardo da Vinci for $1.4 Millionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/art-dealer-arrested-for-trying-to-sell-a-fake-leonardo-da-vinci-for-14-million-180984905/French customs officers seized the imitation when they discovered the man’s export license had expiredFri, 16 Aug 2024 15:25:22 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/art-dealer-arrested-for-trying-to-sell-a-fake-leonardo-da-vinci-for-14-million-180984905/Spanish Police Shut Down a Crime Ring Accused of Selling Fake Banksy Artworkshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/spanish-police-take-down-an-alleged-crime-ring-selling-fake-banksys-180983930/The suspects allegedly recreated the famous street artist's work using spray paint and cardboard to rake in over $10,000Wed, 13 Mar 2024 20:46:19 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/spanish-police-take-down-an-alleged-crime-ring-selling-fake-banksys-180983930/Inside the Biggest Art Fraud in Historyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/inside-biggest-art-fraud-history-180983692/A decades-long forgery scheme ensnared Canada’s most famous Indigenous artist, a rock musician turned sleuth and several top museums. Here's how investigators unraveled the incredible scamTue, 13 Feb 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/inside-biggest-art-fraud-history-180983692/Museum Realizes Ten J.E.H. MacDonald Sketches Are Fakes—and Puts Them on Displayhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/vancouver-art-gallery-exhibits-10-jeh-macdonald-sketches-uncovered-as-fakes-180983527/A new exhibition showcases how the Vancouver Art Gallery investigated the artworks' authenticityWed, 03 Jan 2024 22:16:14 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/vancouver-art-gallery-exhibits-10-jeh-macdonald-sketches-uncovered-as-fakes-180983527/Is This an Early Draft of the 'Mona Lisa'?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/is-an-early-draft-of-the-mona-lisa-on-display-in-turin-180983338/The "Isleworth Mona Lisa" is now on view in Turin—but many experts aren't convinced it's the work of Leonardo da VinciThu, 30 Nov 2023 19:22:19 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/is-an-early-draft-of-the-mona-lisa-on-display-in-turin-180983338/Stolen in the 1980s, a Rare Christopher Columbus Letter Returns to Italyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/christopher-columbus-letter-stolen-italy-180982586/The document is among several missing copies of the letter to be recovered from the U.S. in recent yearsMon, 24 Jul 2023 20:30:22 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/christopher-columbus-letter-stolen-italy-180982586/Every Piece in This Exhibition Is a Fakehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/forgery-art-london-exhibition-180982276/A new show at London's Courtauld Gallery will explore the value of counterfeit artThu, 01 Jun 2023 17:24:55 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/forgery-art-london-exhibition-180982276/