Following the recent appearance of the forged version of a late Robert Lenkiewicz (1941-2002) self portrait, Anna Navas, a trustee of the Lenkiewicz Foundation, told ATG that the charitable trust is considering offering an official and confidential
service. It would allow gallery owners and buyers to be confident in the authenticity of their works.
"We are currently seeking professional and legal advice on the best way to implement this scheme," she said. "So far we've had a very a positive reaction to our proposals and hopefully we'll be able to announce something more concrete in the next few weeks."
The forged self portrait was a copy of the original Lenkiewicz work that set a record £35,000 at Bearne's auction of the artist's Plymouth studio in October 2004. It was one of his last pictures, painted when the 60-year-old artist was in hospital knowing he was dying.
Triton Galleries of Exeter offered the painting for sale at £29,000 earlier in January, not knowing it to be a forgery. However, a contributor to the online discussion forum www.lenkiewicz.org spotted it on the gallery website and contacted Devon and Cornwall Police. The moment the gallery were alerted to the problem they withdrew the painting from the sale. They have since been exonerated by the police.
Officers investigating have tried to trace the origins of the painting through those who supplied it to Triton, but have hit an apparent dead-end after locating two previous suppliers. "We had problems identifying the initial supplier," said Detective Constable James Gledhill. "We are quite happy that Triton Galleries and those connected to the gallery are totally blameless," he added. "They have been totally transparent and their help with our inquiry has been impeccable."
However, officers believe there could be other fake Lenkiewicz paintings being made in the South West. Over the last few years there has been a steady flow of forgeries to emerge, with some suggestion of a common hand. There was an incident about 18 months ago when two Lenkiewicz paintings had to be withdrawn from an auction at Rendells in Ashburton, Devon.
Francis Mallet of the New Street Galley in Plymouth, who deals in Lenkiewicz work, pointed out that the existence of forgeries could damage the legitimate trade in a painter whose works are currently in unprecedented demand.
"The effect of all this, if allowed to go unchecked, can only be to cause lasting damage to the Lenkiewicz market," he said "This is not the first instance that we have seen discredited Lenkiewicz paintings. There are not huge numbers of forgeries in circulation, but there are certainly some out there.
"It's important that this gets dealt with and is not left to drop.
"Having an authenticating service, the like of which has been done with other artists, would be a good way of doing something positive about this."
When contacted by ATG, David Phelps of Triton Galleries said: "I have nothing to add to the statements already made by the police."
