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Why are works by famous artists attractive targets for forgers?
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Forgery
A look at a letter supposedly written by William Shakespeare to his wife, Anne Hathaway; it was, in fact, faked by William-Henry Ireland.
Works by famous artists are attractive targets for forgers primarily because of the high financial rewards associated with their art market value. When demand for a specific artist's work is high and the supply of authentic pieces is scarce, the potential for significant monetary gain increases, creating a strong incentive for fraud.12
Several factors contribute to why these specific artists are targeted:
- Market Demand and Investment: The rise of art as an investment vehicle has led collectors and museums to compete for a limited number of works by noted artists, exponentially increasing the motivation for forgery.1
- Complexity of Attribution: For prolific artists with vast outputs—such as Pablo Picasso—scholars often face difficulty establishing a definitive corpus of work. This uncertainty, combined with the prestige of owning such pieces, makes fraudulent representations harder to police.1
- Subversion of Authenticity: In some cases, artists themselves have complicated the market. For example, Salvador Dalí famously signed blank sheets of paper before prints were created, which provided opportunities for others to create unauthorized works under his name.1
Ultimately, forgers exploit the intersection of high prestige, market scarcity, and the inherent difficulty in verifying the authenticity of works by celebrated figures.12