Home of his fake art mishap, too
THIS IS not the first time that Prince Charles’s charity has been forced to return gifts amid controversy.
Two years ago, The Mail on Sunday revealed a major counterfeit art scandal at Dumfries House.
Charles’s charitable foundation, which is based at the Ayrshire mansion, returned 17 works of art which had been on loan from bullion dealer James Stunt. This newspaper revealed that a ‘£50million Monet water lily painting’, a ‘£42 million Picasso’ and a ‘£12million Dali’ which had been prominently displayed at the house, were all fakes.
Convicted US art forger Tony Tetro admitted he had painted the ‘Monet’ himself on his kitchen table in Los Angeles and sold it to Mr Stunt. ‘You can impress your friends with my pictures but they would never pass expert scrutiny,’ Mr Tetro said.
A Prince’s Foundation spokesman confirmed at the time: ‘Dumfries House accepts artwork on loan from time to time from individuals and organisations. It is extremely regrettable that the authenticity of these particular paintings, which are no longer on display, now appears to be in doubt.’