Online Art Gallery
The online art gallery proliferates on the Internet. Every week, we see more websites and blogs devoted to this model.
In September 2012, the New York Times published an article citing the increase of fraud at these online art galleries. The article explains that a genuine Picasso can cost more than $100 million, while a so-called "original" Picasso—that is really a fake—can be found on the Internet for $450.
Too often artworks that are called "original" and "authentic" by sellers are offered for bargain basement prices by online art galleries and auction sites. And gullible people buy these fraudulent works.
Monitoring Online Art Gallery Sales
Art experts and foundations that monitor online art gallery sales are not surprised that many of these works are fakes or are misleadingly labeled. They explain that fraud has saturated certain sectors of the art market, more than ever recently.
In the last few years the Internet has created an "art for everyone" environment. A recent study estimated that 91 percent of so-called Henry Moore drawings and sculptures sold through online art galleries and through eBay were fakes. To help deal with this problem, the International Union of Modern and Contemporary Masters was founded in 2012—to promote legal protections "against the circulation of counterfeit works of art."
While a great deal of art is legitimately sold on the Internet, it is often difficult for the “surfing” buyer to determine which sites sell real art and which ones sell fakes.
"Fakes can take many forms," says the New York Times. Fakes are often unauthorized reproductions that violate an artist’s copyright or trademark and might be accompanied by a "certificate of authenticity." But these certificates are as fake as the so-called artworks.
Art Forgeries
While forgeries of high-end art, particularly by modern art masters, have been around for as long as anyone can remember, they have become increasingly newsworthy as more law-enforcement agencies worldwide have been dealing with them.
As it turns out, few of the fakes identified in forgery cases are recovered, while many owners of so-called "high-end works" do not realize that they are fakes until similar pieces and/or those by the same dealers are reported on in the media. Yet, some of these "art collectors" are happy with their questionable purchases.
It is worth considering a quote from Pablo Picasso on my postmodernism page. He explains that painting is not done to decorate apartments, that it is "an instrument of war." I wonder if people who purchase fake art to simply "decorate their apartments" would even care about what Picasso said.
Contemporary Art Dialogue considered becoming an online art gallery. (We contacted Newport Beach, CA based photographic artist John Connell who generously let us show his photographic artwork on this page.) But we moved on to other things - uploading quality articles to this website that readers enjoy. Perhaps we’ll consider selling art in the future. But it will be real art.
(See Artist Name List, Artist Name Search and Artist Search for more information about artist(s) on this page.)
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