Ernst Schöller examines a print under the microscope (at left). A closeup of the forged signatures (below) reveals a high series number, 201/251, indicating that the print is a fake.
Archives, Ltd. of New York when Albert Field died), confirms that the edition number does not correspond with anything listed in the catalog or archives. Having 251 artist’s proofs when another print from the same series is listed as having 141 artist’s proofs is unheard of. Another red flag is that this number—any number over five, in fact—of artist’s proofs is way too high.
To pursue the case, go next to
Stuttgart, Germany, where Ernst Schöller is a senior detective in the art and antiques squad of the Landeskriminalamt (LKA—Criminal Investigation Department) of the Baden-Württemberg Police. Schöller, who’s been on the trail of fake Dalí (and other) prints for some time, agrees to look at this print. He takes it out of
its frame and inspects it thoroughly. He notes the absence of a watermark and the fact that the paper of the print is too heavy for a lithograph, as the certificate of authenticity lists it to be. Looking at the print under a loupe and a microscope reveals
the tell-tale cross-lines caused by a screen in a photomechanical process. Neither a woodcut, a true lithograph nor an engraving would leave these marks. Schöller points out these marks and also notes that the print is attached to the backing with masking tape, which one would never put on an expensive print. All
these reasons are clear evidence that the print was mass produced on a printing machine. Schöller dismissed the item as a “poster.” He estimates its value at about € 50 euros ($75) but says the signatures are fake. “Dalí didn’t sign posters,” he says. “In fact, I have boxes of similar fake Dalí prints in the basement of the LKA.
Detecting fakes and frauds is done by a combination of provenance, connoisseurship and science. The provenance is vital. If there’s no adequate documentation for the piece in question, then you can assume it’s a fake or, at least, you can be very suspicious. A connoisseur or expert can look at a print and from his knowledge tell you, for example, that the original is not by the artist it’s attributed to. Science can analyze the printing methods,
determine age and detect forged documents through such means as analyzing typeface. In the case of Dalí, several letters, supposedly signed by the Master, which the Albaretto family pre-
sented as proof of authenticity, were found to have been typed on typewriters that did not exist until ten years after the date on the letter.
A fake print is worthless. Separating the genuine from the fake, isn’t that difficult, but it’s wise to do so before you buy a print rather than afterward.
November 2008 ■ www.artistsmagazine.com
References:
Archives