Fake Austin Osman Spare Study by Master Forger Eric Hebborn
$2,500
In stock
Description
An excellent fake Austin Osman Spare by the Infamous British Art Forger Eric Hebborn.
Eric Hebborn (1939-1996), one of the most successful art forgers of the 20th century, is most famous for his recreations of Flemish Old Master Drawings as well as “studies” from Italian luminaries like Michelangelo, Raphael, and DaVinci. His work is known to have found its way into the Morgan Library and the National Gallery of Art. Controversially, though he also claimed he created several pieces at the MET and the J. Paul Getty Museum to the protests of both institutions.
Admitting in BBC interview in 1994 that he had on occasion copied modern masters, it appears Hebborn was aware of and following the increasing value of artwork by British occultist, author, painter, and engraver Austin Osman Spare (1886-1956). An associate of Aleister Crowley and Kenneth Grant, credited by some with starting the “chaos magic” movement of the 20th century, Spare saw fame as a draftsman and portrait artist in the 1910s before spending a several decades more focused on mysticism than making a living. Largely forgotten after death, Spare’s first modern gallery shows and auctions began in 1986 following renewed interest in his work spurred by Kenneth Grant and the republication of several of Spare’s most famous works in the 1970s.
An excellent copy of Spare’s noted 1992 bookplate for the collector Pickford Waller featuring a prominent image of the god Pan. Hebborn’s craft is excellent but betrayed by several details. In addition to lingering line rules remaining after chemical, the paper is identical to another signed Hebborn drawing currently in the Ellipsis collection and matched by watermark.
Unfortunate for a forger Eric Hebborn was colorblind, occasionally confused subtle grays and bright greens, “ruining” a drawing. It is presumed this was one such “ruined” forgery, conducted prior to his death in 1996.
Found beaten to death on the street in Rome, no one was ever been arrested or charged in connection with Hebborn’s death. Rumors persist that he supported his 30-year tenure in Rome by selling fakes to the Mafia, who may have taken issue with his newly released forgery expose, republished in English the next year as “The Art Forger’s Handbook”.
A large collection of Hebborn’s drawings were auctioned by a rural auction house in 2014 to unexpected international interest.
United Kingdom, c. 1986-1996. Large A4, gouache and ink drawing, expertly executed, on a treated leaf taken from a ledger of the Equitable Gas Company. Sheet warped from forger’s chemical treatment, light discolorations along edges. Good condition. Ellipsis Rare Books, Certificate of Inauthenticity included.
