‘It’s cool, but fake’: Original owner of claimed Geelong Jean-Michel Basquiat painting tells of origin
The original owner of a Geelong painting claimed to be the work of famed American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat has come forward with a startling revelation.
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The alleged original owner of a Geelong painting claimed to be the work of famed American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat has come forward with a startling revelation.
Glenn William, head curator of the Red Gallery in North Fitzroy, says the painting “is cool, but it’s fake” after he purchased it on eBay in 2013 from an unknown New York-based artist who specialised in imitation works.
Other similar sized pieces are currently selling on eBay for $150.
Geelong man Peter Smith*, who currently has the asbestos themed painting, declared his find “could be one of the biggest art stories in Australian history” if he could prove it was authentic.
Sadly for him, and its two female owners, their potential multi-million dollar bubble appears to have burst.
In a bizarre twist, Mr William said he consigned the piece to the Brick Lane Bazaar in Daylesford after his partner passed away, who he said “always had a fantasy of someone finding it thinking it was real.”
“This turned out to be exactly the fantasy that was in his head,” he said.
“It does look real, but I know for a fact it is not the real McCoy.”
He claims to have bought the piece, around 45cm in height, for $60 “from a guy in New York who paints in the Basquiat style.”
“It is cool, but it’s fake,” he said.
Mr William said he delivered around 20 pieces of art to the women in the Daylesford shop “in an art cull” following the death of his partner.
He recalled being “embarrassed” when the Basquiat imitation arrived, seemingly signed by the late artist, whose famous works have fetched as much as $110m.
“I was buying from him because I thought his stuff was cool and I really like the style,” he said.
“It was never meant to be signed Basquiat which we were really annoyed about.
“We hung it anyway and our friends thought it was hilarious.”
Las Vegas-based fine art collector and one-time friend of Basquiat, Scott Ferguson, said proof of ownership history was vital to its authentication.
Mr Smith told the Geelong Advertiser he was still waiting for the provincence papers and would push on with authenticating the piece.
“If this is the case it has wasted valuable time from people that are big in the art world,” he said.
“If I had knowingly bought a fake I would have put it in the bin.”
The Geelong Advertiser has tried on multiple occasions to contact the two alleged owners of the Basquiat-like painting and the Brick Lane Bazaar in Daylesford.
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