Real or Fake?

Falsification and copying of works of art is a serious issue that Fondation Constant deals with on a daily basis. The cases range from artworks that are utterly out of character for Constant to unfortunate copies of existing works. Often we deal with disappointed customers and sometimes even ill-willed auction houses that put false works of art up for auction after we informed them of their doubtful origins. Unfortunately, under the Dutch law there is hardly anything that we can do to put a stop to these practices.

Fondation Constant takes these matters very seriously indeed and has started reaching out to several organisations that are dealing with these issues as well to see if combined action can be taken. In the mean time, Trudy Nieuwenhuys-van der Horst occasionally lectures on the subject to inform art lovers of these unfortunate practices.

In case you were in doubt, the first Le Criminel is an actual watercolour by Constant. (Published in Constant. Les Aquarelles by Jean-Clarence Lambert, 1994, Édition Cercle d’Art, Paris.)