Forging an Art Market in China
When the hammer came down at an evening auction during China Guardians spring sale in May 2011, Eagle Standing on a Pine Tree, a 1946 ink painting by Qi Baishi, one of Chinas 20th-century masters, had drawn a startling price: $65.4 million. No Chinese painting had ever fetched so much at auction, and, by the end of the year, the sale appeared to have global implications, helping China surpass the United States as the worlds biggest art and auction market.
But two years after the auction, Qi Baishis masterpiece is still languishing in a warehouse in Beijing. The winning bidder has refused to pay for the piece since doubts were raised about its authenticity
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Indeed, even as the art world marvels at Chinas booming market, a six-month review by The New York Times found that many of the sales transactions reported to have produced as much as a third of the countrys auction revenue in recent years did not actually take place.
Just as problematic, the market is flooded with forgeries, often mass-produced, and has become a breeding ground for corruption, as business executives curry favor with officials by bribing them with art
http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/china-art-fraud/