It is important when buying artwork to ensure you are buying a genuine painting and not a fake. Unfortunately, with the value of artwork for distinguished artists being high, and with images being freely available online, it is quite easy for genuine artworks to be copied by other artists resulting in counterfeit artwork. If you are unlucky enough to fall victim to such a scam, the harsh reality is you have possibly paid big dollars for something that is worthless. Furthermore, if you try to re-sell the painting as an original painting knowing it is fake, you are potentially committing the crime of dealing in counterfeit art and could expose yourself to criminal and civil charges! Obviously, it is important to avoid purchasing a counterfeit painting.
Pro Hart was aware of the counterfeit paintings which started to crop up as he became famous and his paintings increased in value. In an effort to counter this, Hart was one of the first artists in the world to develop a process whereby he would embed his own DNA into his paintings. Hart’s DNA was harvested by scraping the inside of his mouth with a cotton bud to collect cheek cells, which were sent to a laboratory and processed before being applied to the artwork. The precise method of application to the works was secret, but the location of the DNA is put on a database with the work’s particulars – the title, the size and who bought the painting – for easy identification in the future. You will often see the DNA or microchip numbers written on the rear of Hart’s paintings on his later works.
Let us consider the following case studies which highlight examples of artwork forgery.
Case Study 1 – Dragonfly by Pro Hart
The above Dragonfly painting was recently listed for sale on eBay for a “bargain” price of $1,000. At first glance, the image does look like a Pro Hart work. The eBay listing was described as follows;
Pro Hart Painting on Canvas
Buy it Now price $1,000
Local Pick Up Only
Pro Hart Painting on Canvas. Condition is Used. This is a lovely painting 19cm x 16cm it is signed lower right.
I am not selling this authentic it has no provenance. It is what it is a lovely painting.
No stupid offers or questions please.
The eBay seller who listed this painting only had 3 feedback comments and the eBay account was relatively new, having only been set up 3 months ago. The last feedback item was for the Sidney Nolan painting (case study 2) which sold for $654.87, but apparently the buyer did not pay for the item (perhaps they became aware that the painting they purchased was fake).
We suspected the Dragonfly painting was fake, particularly given the comment about the authenticity and no provenance. When we made inquiries with the seller, we were advised that the painting was indeed a fake. We were also advised that because it was a new eBay account with selling limits in place, the maximum price that it could be listed was $1,000, but they intended to increase the price of the painting after the eBay selling limits were lifted on their account. When we queried why we were unable to see Pro Hart’s signature on the image, we were advised that it is signed on lower right but hard to see on the image, but we could view this if we purchased it. When we suggested that they should not be selling a counterfeit painting online, the seller took offence and we were advised “counterfeit for goodness sakes, I am not selling this painting authentic, read again, it is what it is”. We were further advised that it should have been clear to us that the painting was not authentic by the details in the listing and the “bargain” price.
Unbelievable!
Case Study 2 – Leda and the Swan by Sidney Nolan
The above Leda and the Swan painting with a Nolan signature on its rear was listed for sale on eBay via an auction with starting price of 99 cents. The painting is supposedly from Nolan’s popular series “Leda and the Swan” where his highest valued painting from this series sold for $144,000 (including buyer’s premium) at a Bonhams & Goodman auction in 2007. It was listed by the same seller selling the fake Pro Hart Dragonfly painting above.
The eBay listing was described as follows;
Sidney Nolan painting – Leda and the Swan
Auction starting price 99 cents
Local Pick Up Only
Sidney Nolan painting on Slate Board. It has a signature on the back.
It is 15cm x 19cm and is currently unframed.
I am not selling this as authentic work just as is. And have no provenance.
It is a lovely painting none the less.
No stupid offers please as it is a cheap painting as listed.
This is to be paid for upon inspection at delivery or pickup and not through paypal thank you.
A warning sign within this listing, is the fact that the seller is requesting payment of cash on pick up. They do not want to be paid by Paypal, presumably to avoid the possibility of any future paypal claim being made, if the purchaser subsequently discovers they have purchased a forgery. eBay rules disallow seller’s to refuse to receive payment by paypal, as this provides protection for the buyer.
Following is a genuine Sidney Nolan “Leda and the Swan” painting (122 x 152 cm) which was sold at auction for $144,000 on 7/8/2007.
Case Study 3 – The Coach by Pro Hart
The following painting “The Coach” had recently been listed on Gumtree. Unlike the dragonfly painting above, this fake painting is poor quality and does not look anything like a genuine Pro Hart painting. For a start, the trees and more specifically the leaves look wrong, both in terms of the color and the usual style and detail. The Pro Hart signature looks wrong and not the usual style of Hart’s genuine signature. The text “The Coach” also doesn’t look in the same style and size as is typical for Hart’s paintings – it is normally smaller letters and thinner text, often the title is scratched into the paintwork with a sharp object. The coach and the horses don’t have the usual detail of Hart’s real paintings. The colors in the foreground are not blended in as you would normally see on an authentic Pro Hart painting. Another warning sign for this painting is that the frame is quite a basic and cheap frame like you would see on a print, you would normally expect a better frame if it was a genuine Pro Hart painting. Basically, everything looks wrong on this painting and alarm bells should be ringing for Pro Hart enthusiasts.
This painting had been listed on Gumtree for approximately 6 months. It was originally listed for $5,000 and the price was later reduced to $4,200. We contacted the Hart family to raise our concerns about the authenticity and our concern that someone could fall victim to this scam. We were advised that Raylee Hart (Pro’s wife), David Hart, Julie Hart and Christine Hart all believed that this painting was a forgery. We then contacted Gumtree to advise that we believed this painting to be a fake Pro Hart painting and requesting that they remove this listing from their website. Unfortunately, they neither responded nor withdrew the painting from their site, and now the painting is shown on their website as being sold.
Beware of fake Pro Hart paintings being sold on eBay
We would like to warn any potential buyers regarding a seller who is selling fake Pro Hart paintings on eBay. The username is “deena-57” and in the past 3 months this ebay user has listed 3 fake dragonfly paintings on eBay. The first Dragonfly appears in Case Study 1 above. The other 2 Dragonfly paintings appear below. We requested that this seller cease selling fake paintings on eBay. We have also contacted eBay advising them that these paintings are fake and that they should be removed from the eBay platform, as it is against eBay rules to sell counterfeit. We also expect that these paintings would breach trademark and copyright laws, as they are signed with Pro Hart’s (fake) signature.
The moral of the story
The moral of the story is that you need to be very careful buying expensive paintings online. The average Pro Hart collector could quite easily be tricked into buying a forgery. The easiest way to avoid this is to buy paintings from reputable art dealers, auction houses or to use the assistance of a qualified art valuer. At Coolabah Art, we can arrange a Certificate of Authenticity and Valuation prepared by David Hart Galleries, to give our customers peace of mind that they are receiving the real deal.
Coolabah Art has one of the largest Pro Hart collections in Australia. Click here to view our Pro Hart gallery.
