What do the three "Johnny Hart" and "Brant Parker" drawings shown in this post have in common? If you guessed, "They were all drawn by the same person," or "They were all sold to satisfied, positive-feedback-leaving customers by the Gallery on Baum," or "They're all fakes," then you've been paying attention. Well done! You can see the eBay listings for these comic strip manqués here, here, and here.
But don't just take my word for it. Simply ask Patti Pomeroy, daughter of late BC creator Johnny Hart, who kindly took the time to confirm to me that, in her words, "These are not genuine."
At this point in my ongoing investigation of the Gallery on Baum, it has actually become a bit more of a challenge to identify examples of genuine, non-forgeries in their collection.
More to come!
UPDATE: Just to escalate this investigation to a new level, I contacted the buyer of two of the drawings above and informed him of my findings. The buyer contacted GoB, who instantly offered, with no questions asked, a full refund, as well as shipping and even return shipping charges. This is not the reaction one would expect from somebody unaware they had sold fakes.
7 comments:
Perhaps the reporter on that newspaper piece from, I think, 2008 would be interested in doing a follow up?
I love the investigation aspect of this series where you actually email the artists (or their families) to find the truth. Nice work, once again!
Gee, it seems churlish to criticize "a full scale, full service Art / Animation Gallery located near Carnegie Museum, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh." Isn't being Carnegie-Mellon-adjacent the imprimatur of authenticity?
I can't quite understand the witch hunt. One would think your time is worth more than that. At the prices the Gallery is selling the pieces, isn't the piece of art worth something? I purchased several pieces from the gallery because I liked the piece. Not because it was by a certain artist or illustrater.
I also have purchased several pieces from GoB's ebay store.
Peteykins, if you'd bothered to read their return policy, they clearly state they will fully refund within 30 days of purchase,
no questions asked if one is not completly satisfied with purchase.
I HAVE had pieces authenticated that I've purchased from this dealer.
In my opinion, you are skating on thin ice in persuing this "personal vendetta" so have against GoB and it's owner. Defamation of character and slander against a business and a business owner can have serious repurcussions.
How is this a "personal vendetta" ? Johnny Hart Studios was contacted and confirmed they were forgeries. FYI I was the uneducated buyer of two of these forgeries and when I became aware and contacted GoB not only did they immediately refund my money, plus shipping, plus return shipping, but they actually overpaid me and when I sent the drawings back I sent them a check for the overpayment. They never once told me that I was mistaken and that they were not forgeries. I had purchased the one drawing well over the 30 day return time period and they took that back without question. I certainly appreciate learning the questionable authenticity of the drawings.
It's not a vendetta; I see fakes, I warn people about them. And it's certainly not personal, as I don't know the GoB folks and have never bought anything from them.
I also never implied that everything they sell is a fake. They sell plenty of genuine drawings.
But they sell a LOT of fakes, too.
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