Art Forgery Stories United Kingdom
The forgeries collectors wanted under Tom Keating’s name
The pictures lost their value when he confessed. Then buyers came back for the same hand.
In the 1970s Tom Keating said he had made more than two thousand false pictures. Works people had accepted as paintings by established artists suddenly had a much less certain value. Dealers were reluctant to handle them.
Keating’s trial was halted because of his poor health. As his story became public and he later appeared on television discussing painting, his hand became recognizable in its own right.
Buyers eventually began looking for examples under Keating’s own name. The object had stayed the same while its author, the story attached to it and the reason for buying it had all changed.
