Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
Valencian regional Police seized a JOB Lot of 41 fake or non-attributable prints and paintings, including works attributed to Andy Warhol.
They were destined to be auctioned off in Valencia for at least €1.2 million.
The forgeries also included works by Federico de Madrazo and Ignacio Zuloaga, as well as copies of Joaquin Sorolla.
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The cornerstone of the portfolio were 14 paintings by pop-artist Andy Warhol which had a starting price of €893,000.
The centerpiece was the portrait of Chinese communist leader Mao Tse Tung. It is estimated to be worth a half-million euro.
The New York artist produced a number of iconic images of Mao, according to reports.
Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy were among the other subjects available.
Antonio Lopez, from the Historical Heritage division at the Valencian Police, confirmed that the entire collection belonged to an elderly man who sold it to an auction house in Valencia.
All the pieces were originals and signed by the same owner who claimed to have bought them four or five decades earlier from different gallery owners or sellers.
Before announcing the collection, the auction house director decided to verify its authenticity.
The widow of the artist Hernandez Mompo, for example, confirmed that his signature was forged.
Fake works have been confirmed by eight more family members.
Salvador Dali expert Salvador Dali and his Barcelona police colleagues analysed the works by the Spanish artist and were unable to confirm that they were authentic.
Lopez added that there might be some of the package that were ‘originals’ but in most cases, authenticity has not been able to be verified.
The owner of the paintings has given a statement as an ‘investigated person’ over the alleged crimes of fraud and against intellectual property, though he has not been arrested.
Fakes and copies will be destroyed or returned to their owners or marked and stored in the Police and Police Education Museum.
