I love a good heist movie. Here’s a news article that would make a great movie: one where the librarian steals the paintings by replacing them with fakes, and then those paintings get stolen, replaced by worse fakes. Get the popcorn!
Chinese Librarian Switched Out $17M in Paintings…With Fakes He Painted Himself
But the thief claims this practice is rampant in China
The chief librarian of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in China admitted in court yesterday that he had lifted 143 works by famous Chinese painters and replaced them with fakes he painted himself.
Xiao Yuan replaced landscapes and calligraphies from the 17th to 20th centuries with his own, but said that this practice is so rampant in China that he later saw his fakes replaced with other, more poorly executed fakes. He said his first day on the job at the library, he noticed that fakes were already on display, passing for originals.
Mr. Xiao sold 125 of the paintings at auction for more $6 million. The prosecution claimed the remaining 18 paintings are worth $11 million.
Among the paintings Mr. Xiao looted were watercolors by Qi Baishi and “Rock and Birds” by Zhu Da, a Chinese painter born in 1625.
The defendant, who worked at the library from 2004 to 2006, said he regrets his actions and plead guilty to a corruption charge.
Some artworks were mentioned at the recent WTF Art History Lecture about Andy Warhol (IT WAS EFF-ING FABULOUS) last Saturday: artworks that I hadn’t seen before. You may have seen the Campbell’s soup cans and Marilyn Monroe series countless times, but have you seen these? Sunsets Warhol was a big fan of Joseph Albers, and …
Thanks to Jennifer Small for sending this in response to yesterday’s post about Degas’ failed historical paintings. This one was painted some time between 1857 and 1862 (dates differ), which was around the same time as he was working on the other historical paintings. Paintings and dates: The Daughter of Jephtha 1860 The Daughter of Jephtha study 1860 Young …
Pop Quiz: Can you identify the painting above? [image_with_animation image_url=”2941″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” delay=”6000 Answer: It’s the lower portion of Susan Rothenberg’s “Butterfly” (1976). Seattle Artist League: art school, art classes, painting classes, figure drawing.
[image_with_animation image_url=”7520″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Pictured above: Lagos Elephant House, Nigeria Draw, paint, or collage the view outside your window. Replace the buildings with animals. Option for collaboration: one person draw the scene, the other draw the animals. Take a picture of your drawing and add it to this post our Facebook page. Tag: #salchallenge Important: Save …
Fakes Stolen, Replaced with Fakes Stolen, Replaced
I love a good heist movie. Here’s a news article that would make a great movie: one where the librarian steals the paintings by replacing them with fakes, and then those paintings get stolen, replaced by worse fakes. Get the popcorn!
Chinese Librarian Switched Out $17M in Paintings…With Fakes He Painted Himself
But the thief claims this practice is rampant in China
A Qi Baishi watercolor.
The chief librarian of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in China admitted in court yesterday that he had lifted 143 works by famous Chinese painters and replaced them with fakes he painted himself.
Xiao Yuan replaced landscapes and calligraphies from the 17th to 20th centuries with his own, but said that this practice is so rampant in China that he later saw his fakes replaced with other, more poorly executed fakes. He said his first day on the job at the library, he noticed that fakes were already on display, passing for originals.
Mr. Xiao sold 125 of the paintings at auction for more $6 million. The prosecution claimed the remaining 18 paintings are worth $11 million.
Among the paintings Mr. Xiao looted were watercolors by Qi Baishi and “Rock and Birds” by Zhu Da, a Chinese painter born in 1625.
The defendant, who worked at the library from 2004 to 2006, said he regrets his actions and plead guilty to a corruption charge.
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Thanks to Jennifer Small for sending this in response to yesterday’s post about Degas’ failed historical paintings. This one was painted some time between 1857 and 1862 (dates differ), which was around the same time as he was working on the other historical paintings. Paintings and dates: The Daughter of Jephtha 1860 The Daughter of Jephtha study 1860 Young …
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Pop Quiz: Can you identify the painting above? [image_with_animation image_url=”2941″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” delay=”6000 Answer: It’s the lower portion of Susan Rothenberg’s “Butterfly” (1976). Seattle Artist League: art school, art classes, painting classes, figure drawing.
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