The profession of art forgery spans well over 2000 years and a
recent scandal at Sotheby's serves only to remind us that it
remains alive and well to this day. Frans Hals's Portrait of An
Unknown Man is the subject of the most recent scandal and has been
attributed to the infamous and ever elusive 'Moriarty of
fakers'.
A coined 'Old Master', Portrait of An Unknown Man was
sold by Sotheby's in 2011 for £8.4 million. Following
technical analysis earlier this year however, the paint was
revealed to contain synthetic material dating from the 20th century
and proved to be a forgery. While Sotheby's has yet to release
a full report, it has accepted the analysis and has rescinded the
sale and refunded the purchaser the full cost. Sotheby's could
face a long and arduous battle with seller Mark Weiss, who is
refusing to accept the technical findings or to reimburse the
famous auction house for the cost of the sale. Other works sold by
Weiss are now being called into question
