Have you just bought a fake?

As the art market booms, the likelihood of being duped is higher and buyers must tread with caution, finds Shivangi Ambani

The recent sale of MF Husain's The Last Supper for Rs 9 crore, topping the sale of Tyeb Mehta's Mahisasura at Rs 7 crore, clearly reflects a distortion in market prices for contemporary Indian art, because it is being increasingly seen as an investment option. However, since investors are not necessarily art experts, they may end up easy prey, forking out large amounts for fake paintings. So, before you make a run for the next Husain, hear out Ranjana Steinruecke, owner of Gallerie Mirchandani+Steinruecke. "Husain is known to turn around and disown a painting that he may have previously endorsed as his own," she says. Shireen Gandhy, owner-curator of Gallery Chemould agrees: "Yes, he is known to do that.

However, artists go through several phases in their  lives and so may genuinely not remember their older work." Husain was unreachable but sources close to him say that there are many of his fakes in the market, which he often identifies but occasionally misses.

An artist's family too is not a reliable source, Steinruecke says, adding, "FN Souza's own son is known to sell fakes." Like property, art may also be at the centre of family disputes. "Often, a seller asks not to be named because he may be skirting an ownership dispute. The other co-family owners of the painting may be unaware of the sale, leading to complications," Gandhy points out.

She also warns of forged signatures on paintings. In 2001, a Manjit Bawa miniature was withdrawn from a Christie's sale. "The signature on the bottom right corner was forged by his apprentice, Mahendra Soni," says Ina Puri, Bawa's biographer and curator.

Even science fails to give a completely reliable answer on authenticity, says Rajeev Lochan, director of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). "The scanning machines can tell whether a work has been painted over but this information is open to interpretation," he shrugs.  Though art authentication is an urgent need, there are no easy solutions, so the buyer is forced to do extensive homework. "It is important to ask questions about the provenance of the painting: where has it been from the time it was painted to the present day? Who have the previous owners been? Has it been in any public exhibitions or published in magazines or periodicals?" says Mallika Advani, former Christie's India representative. Major galleries ask the artist to sign a letter bearing a photograph of the painting as a certificate of authenticity. "A detailed catalogue of every show also serves as a document for posterity," says art consultant Mortimer Chatterjee.

The buyer must network with people in the art market who have academic understanding or practical experience. "Some people follow certain schools of art, while others are experts on particular artists. They study the artist's work closely and so are reliable authenticators," says Gandhy. "Deal only with established galleries like Gallery Chemould and Sakshi Art Gallery," says industrialist and art collector Harsh Goenka. "Many new dealers and auctioneers are smooth talkers and sell fakes to the naïve buyer. Some of them, ironically, pose as authenticators  themselves!" he says. He deems it safest to buy directly from the artist.

In the case of a deceased artist, Gandhy looks to his peers for  indicators of authenticity. "Artists know other artists' work. I trust their eye which  looks closely at the brush stroke or the thickness of paint."

Gandhy cautions against sourcing art from royal families of Rajasthan-"usually a con game"-and dealers who offer "a good deal" by sneaking a few fakes into a large consignment. "People also end up buying stolen works unawares," says Steinruecke, recalling the arrest of Kolkata-based art dealer Prakash Kejriwal who was accused of selling a Hemen Mazumdar stolen from a family's private collection. "Such indiscriminate buying of art without a close study will only pump up the prices. The art boom cannot be sustained like this. After all, art is not just a commodity," Steinruecke concludes.

Epistolary exposé

In a letter to art buyer Nisha Jamwal in 1997, artist FN Souza identified a fake of one of his paintings (left), done on canvas and dated 1995. The original (right), he said, was a 1985 acrylic on  paper. He wrote, "There may never be a Souza museum, but there could be one of Souza The Fake.  I may even request Dr Wilmut, who cloned a sheep, to make a fake Souza."

The Big Sham

2005 Osian's pulled back Gothak after artist friends of Bhupen Khakhar including Atul Dodiya protested that it wasn't his work. Osian's Neville Tuli claims it was pulled back days before the auction because ownership records could not be sourced. 

2004 Anjolie Ela Menon's Female Head passed through a series of Mumbai galleries before she calls them to say it was a fake.

2001 A Manjit Bawa miniature was withdrawn during a Christie's auction when the artist claimed it was a fake with a forged signature.

1998  Art buyer Nisha Jamwal told DNA, "I contacted FN Souza when his son, Patrick offered 50 odd Souzas for only Rs 20,000 each. He wrote back saying all of them were fake and done by Patrick."

What to do

Ask artists to sign authentication letters, bearing images of their work

Buy directly from the artist or an established gallery

Maintain ownership records