Misrepresentation in selling mass produced art

[Wild Olive Art]

One thing in the art world that makes my blood boil , is seeing people ripped off by unscrupulous " art " sellers peddling Chinese junk and advertising it as original art !

Although there are regular sellers of this rubbish on Bidorbuy , I have noticed one particular painting listed on this weeks Crazy Auctions largely because the heading lists this work as an original. "[COLOR="rgb(72, 61, 139)"] This authentic hand painted fine oil on canvas is in excellent condition. This beautiful art work was magnificently painted by a talented contemporary artist with a great eye for detail. It is signed by the artist. This auction is for the unstretched oil on flat canvas[/COLOR]."

I feel that to claim these works as " originals" is a total misrepresentation and completely misleads an unsuspecting buyer to believe the artwork has any value.

The definition of " ORIGINAL" - .
fresh and unusual;
novel
able to think of or carry out new ideas or concepts
being that from which a copy, translation, etc., is made
the first and genuine form of something, from which others are derived

Paintings such as these are mass produced in China and sold in bulk for a few $ a piece.Mass produced paintings are not originals and should therefore not be presented as such ! More often than not the signatures are fake names and do not represent a real artist at all.

Surely one should stop to ask why an international " talented artist with a great eye for detail" would need his/ her art to be flogged at a R1 start on an auction site here in SA ?? Surely if the artist had that much talent , their paintings would be sought after in their own countries ??

This is very much like the old art student scam in which cheap, mass-produced paintings or prints are misrepresented as original works of art, often by young people pretending to be art students trying to raise money for art supplies or tuition fees.In some early instances of the scam the sellers represented themselves as Israeli art students, but the scam is now international, with instances of Chinese, French, Chilean, and other nationalities posing as art students or dealers in Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand and the United States since at least 2000. The art is often sold door-to-door, bypassing exhibition sites or art galleries.

It is sad to see somebody bidding R400 on an utterly worthless painting and I think the truth about this kind of art should be exposed !

Have a look at these article here ! China's Art Factories: Van Gogh From the Sweatshop - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Own Original Chinese Copies of Real Western Art! - New York Times

[qball]

Which seller are you referring to?

[Wild Olive Art]

unfortunately a seller with a very good rating - Jewels4u.
In the past month I have had a battle with a number of these Chinese companies spamming my email in box with photo samples and price lists for bulk orders of this art.
There is nothing wrong with the overall quality of the art , but these paintings from the East are mass produced - they are not originals and buyers should be aware of that when buying the art.

[qball]

How do you know that these works are mass produced? or from China? Sorry, need to have more info as this seller only has 3 listings at the moment...

Thanks

[Wild Olive Art]

Here is the link to the ebay site - the same painting being sold as a new original painting by a seller in Australia !!
Music Night,Original Oil Painting by D. West,24"x20" | eBay

I am trying to find the suppliers email and catalogue - unfortunately I deleted the spam from my email and added them to my blocked list but the fact that this painting is being sold on ebay too proves that it is not an original .

Another of the paintings sold on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....#ht_2206wt_905
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....#ht_2015wt_905

[Wild Olive Art]

1. The following policies apply to all listings and are strictly prohibited:

1.1. Misrepresentation of items including:

1.1.1 Creating titles and descriptions that do not accurately describe the item for sale.

Why , if Bidorbuy adheres to this policy , is reproduced art allowed to be sold as an original work ???
This painting is a mass reproduction , sold repeatedly on ebay but the seller claims it is an original artwork. It is clearly not. If it was an original hand painted artwork , there could not possibly be hundreds of identical copies !!

This is absolute misrepresentation and buyers are being taken for a ride. It's very unethical.

Oils - GORGEOUS!!!!! Music Night,Original Oil Painting by D. West,50 X 60 cm for sale in Pretoria / Tshwane (ID:39056193)

[qball]

In our opinion we don't believe there is intention to misrepresent the item or that the seller is trying to take anyone for a ride.

Sellers need to adhere to the policy, we merely try to enforce it, but can't do this without facts and proof to substantiate allegations. We will be contcating the seller in question to investigate further and if need be get the items moved to the correct category.

Thanks

[Wild Olive Art]

Thank you Cuan.
A reproduction is definitely not an original work of art.

The fact that reproductions of all 3 of the paintings listed here on BOB are being sold by an Australian seller on ebay really should be clear enough proof that these are not original works of art.

I have given you the links to the same artworks on listed on ebay.

As a buyer of art, if I bought what I thought was an original painting and then found the identical artwork listed a number of times for sale on other sites I would be furious. In fact , I would demand my money back.
It is shameful that a buyer is about to pay hundreds of rands for a painting worth virtually nothing ( current bid R 601.00) And yes , I believe absolutely that this buyer has been mislead, whether intentionally or not.

There is no way an artwork can be identically reproduced when hand painted and yet the paintings sold here on bidorbuy are exact replicas of those being sold on ebay.
Item on BOB Oils - GORGEOUS!!!!! Music Night,Original Oil Painting by D. West,50 X 60 cm for sale in Pretoria / Tshwane (ID:39056193)
Item on ebay
Music Night,Original Oil Painting by D. West,24"x20" | eBay

Just yesterday there was conversation on the forum with regards artists not getting good prices for art and the authenticity of paintings.
This is a 1st class example of such a case , where a painting is being advertised and sold as an original artwork but it blatantly is not. This creates mistrust between sellers and buyers.

I am sure the sellers intentions were not to misguide anybody and the seller themselves is quite possibly not well informed with regards what constitutes an original work of art and what is a reproduction.
These paintings should be listed under reproductions where they will probably fetch prices closer to what they are worth.

[lilythepink]

Following up on my questions to the seller of Oils - GORGEOUS!!!!! Music Night,Original Oil Painting by D. West,50 X 60 cm for sale in Pretoria / Tshwane (ID:39056193)
I received the following snarky answer ... if this doesn't make me suspicious, I'm not sure what will:

Your question was;
However, yes, there are two identical paintings for sale on EBay so I'm wondering if your picture is the true original or is it one of the two on EBay?

Surely as a seller listing a product you need to know for absolute certain that what you are selling is the genuine item? If you do not have a certificate of authenticity or acceptable papers to prove it is an original then you need to be upfront in your listing. Thanks but I will not risk a bid until I feel happy it is the authentic item.

The answer is;
I don't need your bid. Goodbuy.

"Goodbuy". I don't think so. This seller definitely needs to provide authentication, Cuan. Please could you look into it? thanks

[Wild Olive Art]

It's a crying shame that this has been allowed Lilythepink. These items should have been listed as reproductions. I see the closing bids on the 3 of them were R900 , R600, and R500 and this after both Bidorbuy and the seller were made aware that these are clearly reproductions , listed on other auction sites.

I do not believe that the seller was not aware that these are not the original works and her listing is misrepresentation .

There cannot be more than one of an original.

This is precisely the kind of listing that damages the reputation of true original art listed on this site and those of us who do pride ourselves in offering true originals are the people most affected.

Perhaps I should stop wasting my time painting - it's evidently far more profitable to buy out wholesale rubbish from China and sell them as originals on auction sites.

[mellowred]

Excuse my ignorance here WOA - I know nothing about art, I'm just interested in the wording "original oil on canvas"

If these were originals, surely the buyer would see that from the canvas and texture. If I read right, there are artists "repainting" artworks - does that mean there are several "originals" of the same painting? Obviously as you say these cannot be identical - even paint by numbers would have some variations.

The two paintings you used as examples are identical; it is a fact that at least one of the buyers is going to end up with a print.

As ignorant as I am, I can see the difference between an oil on canvas and a print. So, what I don't understand is - what technology is being used to reproduce an oil painting on canvas and make it look real? Or are the buyers ending up with a print and just accepting that they did not get what was advertised?

[Wild Olive Art]

Excuse my ignorance here WOA - I know nothing about art, I'm just interested in the wording "original oil on canvas"


If these were originals, surely the buyer would see that from the canvas and texture. If I read right, there are artists "repainting" artworks - does that mean there are several "originals" of the same painting? Obviously as you say these cannot be identical - even paint by numbers would have some variations.

The two paintings you used as examples are identical; it is a fact that at least one of the buyers is going to end up with a print.

As ignorant as I am, I can see the difference between an oil on canvas and a print. So, what I don't understand is - what technology is being used to reproduce an oil painting on canvas and make it look real? Or are the buyers ending up with a print and just accepting that they did not get what was advertised?

Hi Mellowred
The wording " oil on canvas " is not the problem here , the problem is that these works are listed as original paintings , which they are not. They may be oil on canvas but they have been reproduced 100x over.

The word " original" does not mean hand painted and just because it is an oil on canvas does not make a painting an original.
An original artwork is ONE OF A KIND or it is the original painting from which prints or copies are made. An original is the first and genuine form of something, from which others are derived
Anything copied from the 1st painting is a reproduction and does not carry much value at all and should be listed under reproduced art.

In this case , where a painting is reproduced hundreds of times and sold all over the world , the artwork is worth no more than an unsigned print and so to list it as an original artwork is dishonest.

I have access to these mass produced works - most art dealers / galleries / frame shops do but most ethical art sellers would not purchase these items and definitely not sell them on as the real deal.

These are paintings that are copied in a colour by number sort of process in Chinese sweat shops . You will never see an artists full name on the signature and you will never be able to obtain any info on the " artist" . In fact , mostly the signatures are made up and although 50 different artists may be making copies of the same painting , they all sign the same signature. Furthermore , there is no guarantee that the canvas used is acid free or that artist quality paints are used ( highly doubtful ).

Have a look at this article, in particular the last sentence " Wu will never paint an original. If he were allowed to paint whatever he wants, he would soon run out of ideas, the young man admits."

China's Art Factories: Van Gogh From the Sweatshop - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

[mellowred]

Hi WOA, I read through the link after posting. Very interesting read too. Now I understand the "technology" used ... it's just plain old fashioned "sweat and grind".

I agree that it is unethical to sell these as originals. These should be advertised as exactly what they are - mass produced oil on canvas copies. As a "buy it because I like it" buyer, I would have no interest in the dealer value of a painting, but I would be ticked off if I thought I was buying a one off and found it to be one off a couple of 100,000.

Hope you manage to get the listings changed.

[lilythepink]

I still wonder over the seller's comment that he/she doesn't need my bid (because I asked a question?)

No ethical seller would tell someone that, surely?

[selabi]

Hi Wild olive

I have to agree there is nothing worse than having to scroll through mountains of chines sweat shop art to find the real art works of artist who have not sold their soul i see in JHB they have this stuff in tons at flea markets and road sides at prices way lower than they sell here.Please get these fakes off BOB or put it in a seprate listing under sweat shop art