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Christie's caught up as £30m forgeries send shock waves through the art world German police hold three suspects after works sold through leading auction houses are exposed as fakesPanic is spreading through the art world following the discovery of forgeries among major 20th-century paintings sold in recent years by leading auctioneers and dealers worldwide, including Christie's in London.More than 30 paintings, thought to be by artists including Max Ernst, Raoul Dufy and Fernand Léger, have been unmasked as forgeries, the Observer has learned. The fakes have duped leading figures in the art world into parting with at least £30m.Four of the paintings have gone through Christie's, including forgeries of Ernst's La Horde, estimated at £3.5m and eventually sold to the Würth Collection, and André Derain's Bateaux à Collioure, sold for £2m. Six paintings were sold by the leading German auctioneer, Lempertz, one for £2.8m. The forger's strategy appears to have been to create compositions that would relate to the titles of documented works whose whereabouts are not currently known.Dealers and collectors who have recently acquired works by the artists involved "are shaking over this scandal", one insider said. "They are in a panic over whether their paintings are also forgeries. Everyone's taking a second look." The panic is so acute that collectors are even seeking refunds on unquestionably genuine works.One expert describes the forgeries as "gold standard". They cover many styles and include works by Heinrich Campendonk, the German Expressionist. Most are in the style of the particular artist, rather than a direct copy. All are believed to have been painted by a German forger over the past 15 years. Police are now investigating whether that forger is Wolfgang Beltracchi, 59, an artist from Freiburg, aided by his wife, Helene, 52, and her sister, Susanne, 57 – women described as "great charmers". All three are now in police custody. Two men are also being investigated.The deception involved an invented story about inheriting the paintings from the sisters' grandfather, Werner Jägers.Dr Nicholas Eastaugh, of Art Access and Research, a leading British expert in scientific analysis of paintings, told the Observer that he has seen four of the forgeries and conducted extensive tests on three. The results confirmed that they contain pigments not available when they were supposed to have been painted. One of the paintings, Campendonk's Rotes Bild Mit Pferden (Red Picture with Horses), was sold in 2006 by Lempertz for a record price.Eastaugh emphasised that the duped buyer has given him permission to discuss the case. A painted sketch on the back of the canvas – suggesting that the artist was trying out another idea – is also a forgery. Clues to a painting's provenance, or history, are often found on the back of a painting. Many of the forgeries have fake labels from galleries or collections to give a further authentic touch, suggesting past exhibitions. The Christie's Ernst is said to bear a false label, "Flechtheim Collection", which aroused the suspicions of the distinguished historian and Flechtheim biographer, Ralph Jentsch. Labels on other works suggest they are from the "Jägers Collection".One duped auctioneer said: "It's significant that these paintings have been through the sale process before they got to me. They must have been sufficiently convincing."The buyer of the Campendonk was Trasteco, a trading company in Malta, which is now claiming back the purchase price. The firm is one of two collectors represented by Friederike Gräfin von Brühl, a German lawyer at K&L Gates. She said: "For the art world, this is a big scandal. Everyone is shocked."Christie's London – which handled alleged forgeries that include Campendonk's Girl with a Swan, sold for £67,000, and another painting that fetched £344,000 – said: "We take any doubt surrounding authenticity extremely seriously and are investigating the matter fully."Art marketsPaintingGermanyDalya Albergeguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Scots fisheries win £11m grants More than 140 Scottish firms are awarded nearly £11m of European funding, a move which the ministers say could protect jobs. bbc.co.uk |
Lara Stone and Georgia Jagger make gap teeth the new face of fashion Popularity of models has made unusual looks the new perfectionCall it the flight from perfection. The gap-toothed smile flashed by some of today's top models is leading to a Stateside boom in quirky dental treatment in place of the perfect, straight white smiles for which young Americans have historically endured years of treatment.The popularity of models such as Jess Hart, Lara Stone and Georgia Jagger has increased demand for cosmetic orthodontic procedures. Some models are having brackets inserted between their front teeth to widen the gap and improve their careers and American dentists report that veneers with slight staining, grooves and overlaps are growing in popularity.Last week the New York Times reported that demand is growing for customised imperfect veneers despite the cost of up to $2,500. Standard veneers cost around $700. "The white standard got too white," one Manhattan dentist told the paper. "The perfection standard got too perfect."The gap-toothed pout has been one of fashion's most sought-after accessories for the past two seasons, kicked off by Australian model Jessica Hart's appearance in the 2009 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and culminating with supermodel, and the current face of Calvin Klein, Lara Stone becoming the poster girl for the diastema.British consumers may soon be imitating their American counterparts. Mick Jagger's daughter Georgia – gap to the fore – is on the cover of the latest edition of British Vogue and appears in ad campaigns for Versace and Hudson jeans.Unusual beauty has become a major trend in the fashion industry, while recent catwalk shows and ad campaigns have also focused on unconventional looks. Redheads are enjoying a renaissance in fashion. Top British brand Mulberry's last show featured models all clad in copper wigs, inspired, says the company's creative director, Emma Hill, by Finnish model Julia Johansen.The high-street brand Jigsaw featured two flame-haired girls – Jessie Good and Poppy Delevigne – in its autumn ad campaign. Good is the daughter of Jigsaw's co-founder Belle Robinson and has just been signed to top model agency Storm. "She's the only redhead in our family – poor old Jessie hated being a redhead as a child," says Robinson."She didn't look like anyone else in her family and she didn't look like her friends. But she has the most incredible hair, and slowly but surely she began to love it herself. Redheads are being embraced in a major way because nine times out of 10 it's their natural hair colouring, so there's a purity to them."The fascination with natural looks has been evident in recent fashion shows. At the autumn/winter 2010 Prada show, girls wore unglamorous, librarian-style glasses. Strong, natural-looking eyebrows were seen on Chloe's catwalk. The models at Marc by Marc Jacobs all had morning-after make-up that looked rough and lived in, and messy hair was seen at Narciso Rodriguez's New York show. "There is something in the air now which is seeing people move away from the stylised looks we are used to seeing on the red carpet and towards the more natural," said hair stylist Guido Palau after Jacobs's show.Liz Hambleton, beauty director of Grazia, agreed: "I think we're maxed out on perfection and looking for something a little more real at the moment. A gappy tooth, tons of freckles, huge geek chic glasses all give someone so much more personality than a glossy blow-out and a fake tan. I'm more interested in looking at the Lara Stones and Karen Elsons of this world than Cheryl Cole.""I think that odd beauties really show off the current clothes well," said Harriet Quick, fashion features director at Vogue. "At the moment fashion is rethinking classics and is focused on making real clothes. These girls make you look twice and see fashion in a surprising new light.""It goes back to that Parisian beauty mantra of not looking done but actually being extremely done," said Hambleton. "It's about spending time and, yes, money cultivating great skin and hair in order to avoid having to style it and wear make-up. A great skincare regime makes the difference between wearing foundation or not."FashionBeautyAlice Fisherguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |