[mekal]

If it's really so easy to make forgeries now, it seems like the street value would plummet. Even if that's not the case, instead of swapping the original and risking jail time, why not just sell the cheap, perfect forgery to whatever idiot is buying stolen art? That way everyone wins! You (criminal), society (still have the original in the museum) and the buy (thinks he has the original).

[citizenpaul]

Who said it's easy?

It seems to require a team of people based on some stuff I saw. A painter that has mastered the technique of the artist being copied. A canvas/substrate maker. ,Or sometimes they can find an old unused canvas and they paint on it so it passes dating tests. The paint ingredients usually have to be gotten from very specific locations, then require an expert in creating the old style paints from it. Sometimes they can find authentic old paint to use. Someone that knows how to recreate wear, tear and time damage to match the original. Finding old materials from the same time period and working it into the forgery is a common tactic.

Its quite an interesting situation if you have some free time to read or watch the many documentaries on the subject.

The mona lisa has a crazy history of being stolen, borrowed and lost so many times it could easily be a fake. And that is one of the most famous well known and closely watched artworks. What does that say about the rest...

I'm sure you are right that the majority of fakes are probably just sold directly to rich suckers. I don't think jail is a very high risk either. It seems most of the time these things are quietly swept under the rug when discovered even when reputable sellers get caught up in it. Of course this is on of those things that stats basically don't exist since it is all back room deals and confidential accounts. Hard to prove and as you mentioned no one wants to crash the market.