Overseas Chinese painter involved in fake painting fraud
- By Wu Jin
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 21, 2013
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Qian Peichen |
An overseas Chinese painter is suspected of being involved in a fake painting scam, discovered recently in New York.
Qian Peichen, a 73-year-old New York Chinese immigrant is suspected of painting forgeries of eminent modernist artists, including Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, the New York Times reported.
The paintings, introduced by obscure New York art dealer, Glafira Rosales, to Knoedler Gallery were sold as the genuine masterpieces for about US$80 million.
Rosales was arrested for fraud in May.
However, when federal investigators visited Qian's home, they found that he had disappeared from the Woodhaven garage where the counterfeit paintings were suspected of coming from, and they were unable to find him.
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A fake piece of Jackson Pollock [File photo] |
Born in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, Qian emigrated from Shanghai to New York in 1981. Life proved hard in the opposite rim of the Pacific Ocean, and he had to work several jobs in order to earn a living, such as teaching and selling paintings on the street. According to Shanghai Morning Post, he did not feel happy with this low standard of living.
Qian's acquaintance with Rosales's boyfriend around 1990 was a turning point in his life. Qian had sold him at least 63 imitation paintings, for less than 10,000 yuan each.
Despite the forgery, Qian's paintings skill is widely recognized. "It's impressive," said Jack Flam, the president of the Dedalus Foundation, the non-profit organization that authenticates Motherwell's work. "Whoever did these painting was very well-informed of the practices of the artists."
Qian would not be found guilty if he could prove that he had no idea that the paintings would be sold as frauds, the Shanghai Morning Post reported.
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