Fabricated provenance of all these fakes refers to the German art collector James Brennerman supposedly lived in Chicago

a fictional Story of a collector Brennerman quite fit for a film. In it, you'll see trucks with hundreds of paintings of Jackson Pollock, the mysterious Chicago estate, collector-затворник suffering from delusions of grandeur and awaiting the imminent arrival of aliens. Crooks at-видимому, had a lot of fun coming up with all this. Collectors caught on their bait, clearly not amused.

Started in 2013 in new-йоркский international Foundation for art research (International Foundation for Art Research, all IFAR) brought for examination three alleged work of Jackson Pollock from two different collectors. Since the dissolution of the authentication fee if the Fund Pollock-Краснер 20 years ago, it was all IFAR verifies all appearing on the market new works of Jackson Pollock. Fakes for the last 20 years in all IFAR had seen a lot. But these were, as they say, history.

the provenance of all three of these paintings mentioned was a the owner of the strip-клуба from Virginia, which, in turn, acquired the works from the collection of a German immigrant James Brennerman. Collectors could provide all IFAR whole file of "confirming" this story documents: photos Brennerman, his family, friends and his estates, bundles of his letters. Plus on the revs all three fakes were the same notes: some characteristics of the works, long (over 50 characters) part numbers and instructions about where in the house it is to hang this painting.

According to the letters (which, by the way, all written by Brennemann in English or poor German, and no letter of response from its recipients), Brennerman immigrated to the United States in the early 1940-х. At Chicago he bought a large estate Buffalo-Парк and collected in the hundreds (to be more precise, 748) works of Jackson Pollock, as well as works by De Kooning, Renoir, Monet, Rothko, Gorky, and others Lived alone. Was texting with a friend-коллекционером Charles farmer. With him in 1968 he went to Pollock's widow Lee Krasner and bought it for cash (no checks, no papers) hundreds of works by Pollock, who took on own trucks (receipts from transportation companies, respectively, also did not survive). Had two loyal servants, Bertha and Ethel Ramsey, who bequeathed his entire collection. In his later years, according to his letters, went crazy — was waiting for him to take the aliens to another planet, where he will become Supreme ruler and God. He died in 1974. The body, according to the will, moved and buried in a cemetery in Munich.

the fact none of this phony biography was not confirmed. In the Chicago archives have no mention of Brennerman or estate Buffalo-Парк. In a cemetery in Munich no one is buried under that name. And about the purchase of seven hundred works of Pollock from the artist's widow and say nothing: in his catalogue-резонеonly 1 100 works, including documented works whose whereabouts are unknown. Lee Krasner successfully sold her husband's work is not itself but through the galleries, and the money was not needed to pull off deals of this scale.

But the main curiosity of the dossiers were photos. Photo "the southern entrance to the estate Brennerman" was a photograph of the Sforza castle in Milan. The "main house of the estate Brennerman" like two drops of water similar to the Church of the Visitation of the blessed Virgin Mary Elizabeth (Chapel) in Wurzburg (Bavaria). The interior of the "library Brennerman" indistinguishable from the library of the Wiblingen monastery in Ulm (Germany). And finally, the fountain in the manor Brennerman — is nothing like the fountain of Neptune in Madrid. Photographs of Brennerman and his friends even better. For example, the photo of "Bertha and Ethel Ramsey and his son" all three of us dressed in bathing suits of the early twentieth century. And the next card, "Burt Ramsey" already in uniform during the Second world war, but still looks young. You have to think that the servants Brennerman discovered the secret of eternal youth, time survived until 1990-х (when they outbid collection of nightclub owner).

as for the fake paintings, they are made so poorly that it is not able to deceive many-нибудь experienced collector or expert. In all IFAR has established that the work does not correspond to Pollock or stylistically or in content (as part found acrylic paint, and has never been used by the artist). Moreover voiced by the owners of the purchase price is too low for real dripping Pollock's (talking about a five digit sums in dollars). All IFAR gave a negative opinion on all three provided works in 2014. And then for the first time reported about the dubious "collections Brennerman".

But in 2015-м in Foundation art studies brought another fake Pollock from the "collections Brennerman". And one of the previously rejected them falshakov over the years have been resold to unsuspecting novice collector. And it is unlikely this is the last fake Pollock walking on the market. Their may be dozens, or even hundreds, mentioned in the letters Brennerman.

the Material was prepared by Maria Onuchina, AI

Sources: ifar.org, artinvestment.ru