Same pen but different colors.
Here's what the seller wrote to me regarding the Krazy Kat drawing:
"Been in my possession since 1967 when I bought it from Kaufmanns Department store fine arts department. The Kaufmann family commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build Fallingwater. It is absolutely authentic original and comes with a 100% moneyback guarantee!"
Same seller has Watterson, Wyeth, Dali etc for sale in his gallery...
Well, well...
Here are some more:
And here's that same pen again...
Apparently some people are falling for this.
The Krazy Kat image has already recieved bids.
Luckily the fakes are so poorly done that real collectors will stay away from these fakes. This just shows you gotta be aware of what you are buying.
I find this kind of thing troubling. A couple of months ago somebody on ebay offered an "original" Charles Dana Gibson drawing at a ridiculously low opening bid. He identified the magazine in which the drawing had appeared and offered many details of the "original," but didn't present the published version--most likely because it'd be obvious his "original" was an amateur copy. The low opening bid suggests the seller knew he was auctioning a fake.
ReplyDeleteI let it pass because accusing someone of fraud (especially to ebay, which discourages complaints to protect its cut of each sale) can get you into trouble. You may get sued while the fake is sold anyway and the seller gets off scot free.
Then there's the possibility an ignorant dealer is selling the piece in good faith. I've seen cases in which mainstream art appraisers are unable to identify illustration or comics pieces that would cause a fan no trouble.
Dealers in general antiques seem to be particularly susceptible to believing whatever they're told by the person who sold them a piece.
Caveat emptor...one can only hope prospective buyers are informed enough to recognize a fake and not to bid on it. Did any of these items sell?
You probably know this, but that "Ollie Johnston" sketch is copied from Ward Kimball's spoof model sheet of himself. I believe it's in "The Illusion of Life" somewhere.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Joakim. He's a huckster and has no conscience. I'd like to think that Dirks, Goldberg, et al are all in the hereafter, waiting for him with large socks full of manure.
ReplyDeleteI find it repulsive how you can talk without scientific facts ! Especially tony grecos work where I spent tons of money authenticating his art & it's all been right ! Unless you have scientific proff you should be careful passing along unproven info that affects other people's lives ! Who cares about an opinion I deal in facts !!!
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