A Dubious Old Master Unnerves the Art World By NINA SIEGAL OCT. 26, 2016 Continue reading the main story Share This Page Share Tweet Pin Email More Save Photo Sotheby’s declared “Portrait of a Man,” previously attributed to Frans Hals, a “modern forgery.” Credit Sotheby's AMSTERDAM — The painting convinced experts at the Louvre. Top French cultural officials declared it a national treasure. Dutch curators at the Mauritshuis and the Rijksmuseum joined the chorus of scholars who decided the enigmatic portrait of a man dressed in black was an undiscovered masterwork by Frans Hals. To many, “Portrait of a Man” was that rare find, a truly great old master painting that had simply never surfaced. In 2011, Sotheby’s auction house in New York brokered a private sale to an art collector for about $10 million. This month, though, Sotheby’s declared the work a “modern forgery.” The portrait was linked to a lower-profile event back in March, when the French poli...
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