Jean-Michel Basquiat 🇺🇸 Brooklyn, New York • Graffiti Art

[iAmCxxx]

I'd certainly've flogged a Banksy to finance the purchase of that.

[eyectopus]

I think it might be too good to be true alright. If the details on the back of the frame say 10,000 to 20,000(pretty old and outdated figures). I am sure the seller would have investigated this more.

Also the last thing the seller sold was a hand etched metal plate signed "Picasso" which went for just over $300.

[felix]

Who is this Biscuit guy you speak of, worth a punt?

[Pure Evil]

I even superimposed the actual image on the front over the image from the auction on the back and it was the same, thinking it MIGHT have been a dodgy copy of something that had sold before....

ho hum, easy come easy go....

[Photoxtc]

my Fav part of the piece is were the signature just happens to be the only damage on the piece ;D

[iAmCxxx]

A Brooklyn based antique shop with 100% feedback... I reckon it was the genuine thing.
Soz bud.

[eyectopus]

If someone was going to produce a fake, I would put nothing past them. They could create all documents and age them etc to throw you off track.

It might be worth keeping an eye on the seller to see if anything else like this pops up.

[Guest]

I personally, think its a fake.

[jam]

I highly doubt this is/was authentic. The description was sketchy at best and there are some key issues with it:

-How would this guy not know JMB couldn't have painted it 40-50 years (until he was presumably corrected by someone watching the auction)?

-How could he spell Basquiat's name incorrectly when it was clearly printed on the scrap of paper on the backside of the frame?

-Who would tape that bit of paper to the back with an estimate of $10-20k and feel that was adequate framing and presentation of 'provenance'?

-An authentic Basquiat of this composition and size would command substantially more than even the estimate of $10-20k as claimed on the 'Richard Lowden' tag (not an accredited gallery).

-The seller is in Brooklyn, NY... only a few stops on the tube from Christies, Sothebys, Bonhams NYC locations. How is it conceivable that he wouldn't bother having the piece checked out or consigned with any one of them?

Lastly, a piece of paper to show 'provenance' is just as easy (if not easier) to fake as a piece of art. While I am no Basquiat expert, I have seen many in person and know a collector in NY that has many pieces. I messaged her when I saw this listing come up and she said she didn't believe it was real, that JMB wouldn't have included a sig on a piece that had a crown on it... and he nearly always signed things on the verso. Unless the buyer could have the piece inspected by an expert before paying, I wouldn't be spending any money on this piece.

[romanywg]

Well you've convinced me Jam. Too good to be true. Invest your money at Corked on Thursday.

[s7740]

The signature on that 'Picasso' etching plate he sold previously is written conventionally (from left to right), and not in reverse, therefore if a print were to be taken from it then the signature would come out back to front, as well as being in the bottom left hand corner instead of the right. I very much doubt that Picasso would make such an elementary mistake. Of course, the seller might have horizontally flipped all 7 pictures of it in PhotoShop for some reason, which would explain it, but I doubt that too. Whoever faked that seriously needs to raise their game. A real amateur job.

[Michael Jacob]

PE
I think you made the right choice. I was watching it too. I tried contacting the seller many times with questions and never got a reply. I also tried researching the alleged provenance, and I could find nothing. I searched high and low to justify it. Like others have said, if it had any chance of being real, they would have tried to prove it. It really had me going, but it seemed to good to be true. There is a website out there devoted to ebay art fakes. They think there could be as much as 80% fakes when claiming to be originals. You can search just about any artist (picasso, chagall, renior, etc) and get tons of originals. If the odds were even in the buyers favor, museums and galleries would have people buying them up. If its too good to be true....

anyway, I think you made the right choice.

[Gentle Mental]

fake or a really dumb seller.

from his transactions records, i don't think think he/she is dumb.

he didn't answer his questions fully. partial answers like those can get him off the hook. very bill clinton.

[Francis]

Aug 12, 2008 23:55:54 GMT 1 Photoxtc said:

my Fav part of the piece is were the signature just happens to be the only damage on the piece ;D

That's on the lower right side.

The seller states "It is signed on the lower left hand corner"

[ricosg11]

it looks too clean to be real. his line work is much more "sloppy" crayon like lines

[inkdigital]

He also sold paintings by Mcgee, Motherwell, and Miro all for under 1k

[Pure Evil]

THE FORUM HAS SPOKEN : FAKE

thanks guys I feel better now.. Im off to buy a Salvador Dali etching for 50p.

[Photoxtc]

Now to make this perfectly clear and that there is no doubt in anyone's mind that this is in fact a FAKE... look at these pictures, both of these originals by Basquiat were used to make this one really bad fake... END OF STORY!!!

REAL



REAL


A BIG FAT FAKE!!!!

[Harveyn]

Good work photoxtc.

[Winter]

Good work. It's also worth bearing in mind that very serious collectors/experts trawl ebay for such things and it would have been picked up by someone in the know had it been authentic.

[Photoxtc]

well hopefully someone sees this thread that bought it and figures out it's a REALLY bad fake and backs out...It will really suck if someone pays $4k for a frame and some worthless paper

Let's also remember this seller's name and point out more fake in the future...

[romanywg]

I have a very rare Munny that was customised by JMB. You can have that for $5,000 if you like.

[Pattycakes]

As for the Picasso plate he sold, it's fake, but Picasso almost always signed his name from left to right on his etching plates, thus they printed back to front. There are a few instances where he engraved it backwards to print the correct way round - but not many. Oh and the Basquiat is about as fake as they come. eBay is a dumping ground for other peoples mistakes, someone poor bastard just took a hit of nearly 5 grand for that piece of crap!

[Guest]

Well done to everyone, for spotting this as a FAKE. and a big warning to those that would of bought it. Sorry.

[stjohn]

For £2.50 you could have simply checked the signature here:

www.findartinfo.com/browse/signatures.asp

Bet its nowhere near - how was his surname to fit on the page?!

[Deleted]

Good detective work Photoxtc. Thank you also to PE for not posting it before as i definitely would have bought it to hang with my Jimmy Warhol from ebay. Romanywg... that Munny needs underpants.

[mike hunt]

I've had a few Basquiats, and I think it is fake, because the writing just doesn't look like his junky scrawl!

[Francis]

There's also a thread about this here: banksyforum.proboards82.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=24142

[nacional]

5000 bucks is not just spunking money, it a huge dribbling money-shot splurted between the heaving breasts of "New York" (isn't she wonderful...)..wow...now I feel better...

[Francis]

You can buy a signed Banksy for that much. Signed Banksy or original Basquiat?