Warhol: Fake?
As an artist who famously dubbed his studio the Factory, deciding whether a newfound Warhol piece is authentic or fake is turning vitriolic.
“Tate Modern’s Nicholas Serota says he believes the deadpan self-portrait on a red background, made in 1965, is perfectly genuine. Nevertheless, he recently declined to have it bought with taxpayers’ money, because of claims convulsing the art world that the picture may not actually be the work of one of the 20th century’s most influential artists. Invective is being hurled back and forth across the Atlantic as a result. David Mearns, a Sussex businessman and underwater explorer, accuses the New York body that pronounces on Warhol authentications of “conspiring to remove” all the red portraits from the market.”
