Basil in brush with ‘fake’ row
Art world in turmoil over claims of phoney Blackshaw paintings
A ROW has begun in the art world over the authenticity of works which their seller says are by Co Antrim-born man Basil Blackshaw — described as one of Ireland’s finest artists.
Viewers of the BBC art programme Fake or Fortune? are often on the edge of their seat as host Fiona Bruce and her team try to establish the authenticity of paintings.
Now art lovers in Northern Ireland have their own Fake or Fortune? mystery after the late artist’s estate issued an alert over some of the Blackshaws on sale.
The estate of Blackshaw, who died in 2016, warned that there were a “huge amount of paintings purporting to be painted by Basil Blackshaw”.
“In our opinion the works are unlikely to have been painted by Basil. Anyone thinking of buying should be aware,” the estate said.
The estate told the Belfast Telegraph it did not wish to comment further but is understood to be disputing the paintings’ provenance.
The works include some with prices running into many thousands of pounds.
Their seller did not wish to be identified but insisted that the provenance — an art world term for the trail of evidence that proves a work is by a particular artist — was genuine.
And he said he would consider seeking legal advice over the issue. Four years ago, gardai investigated claims by a family member that paintings wrongly described as Blackshaws had been sold by auction.
But auctioneers insisted they were genuine and legal action to prevent the works being returned by gardai after an investigation did not go ahead.
Dublin auction house Whyte’s was caught up in that controversy. But Ian Whyte said he had been in no doubt that the paintings were genuine.
Some of the Blackshaws Whyte’s sold previously include equine-themed works, with Race Horse 1990 selling for €40,000.
He described the latest allegation about other paintings as “bad news”.
“Yes, there are forgeries and you have to be careful but the paintings I dealt with are good as gold,” Mr Whyte said.
“The experts I respect would say the same though it is a criminal offence to sell forgeries.”
The PSNI said it had not received any reports of complaints on the matter.
Mr Whyte said provenance issues could emerge where artists did separate deals to sell paintings, or exchange them for something else, rather than just selling through galleries.
For some, Blackshaw was the greatest artist of his generation, he added.
Blackshaw was born in Glengormley in 1932 and studied at the Belfast College of Art.
He later won a scholarship to study in Paris.
His work was acclaimed for its traditional approaches to painting, and according to a Whyte’s auction brochure, was “concerned with both his immediate surroundings and the tradition of western art”. Blackshaw’s interest in painting horses connected him with other artists like Degas, Marc and Munnings.
His collectors have included journalist Eamonn Mallie, who has also written a book on Blackshaw.
In 2017, Mr Mallie sold some of his Blackshaws, including a portrait of Van Morrison, which fine art writer Michael Parsons called “the ugliest painting — by any artist — to appear at auction in quite some time”.
‘You have to be careful but the paintings I dealt with are good as gold. The experts I respect would say the same’