The Vienna Regional Court recognized the overpainted color photograph as a forgery in December 2024 after years of investigations and an independent expert report.
The work had already been submitted for auction at the beginning of 2023. However, the artist Arnulf Rainer himself became aware of the object and informed the authorities about the forgery. Subsequently, the Vienna Criminal Investigation Department initiated extensive investigations and initially secured the work.
Judicial Conclusion: Work Can No Longer Be Traded as Original
The provenance investigations revealed that the seller had acquired the work in good faith. The alleged forger, on the other hand, could no longer be prosecuted because the statute of limitations had expired. Both criminal proceedings were therefore discontinued by the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office.
Thanks to the persistence of the investigators and a judicial expert report, the work was recognized as a forgery and confiscated by the court in December 2024. A future sale as a Rainer work is thus excluded. It is a significant step in the fight against art forgery in the Austrian art market.
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