Culture

Expert Advice for Ensuring the Art You’re Buying Isn’t Fake

Fraudulent art sales are estimated to total $6 billion every year.

September 30, 2017 5:00 am EDT

Gallery employees pose with works from Canaletto's views of Venice painted between 1723-1724 at The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace on May 18, 2017 in London, England. A new exhibition at The Queen's Gallery displays Canaletto's views of Venice, produced in the 1720s alongside his series of Roman views from 20 years later. Canaletto & the Art of Venice opens to the public tomorrow, May 19th. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

When searching for the next piece to hang above your fireplace or punctuate a room, how can you be sure who to trust? Dealers? Authenticators? A new Town & Country article explores the widespread world of forged art, noting that accidentally purchasing a fake can be “the ultimate humiliation” for wealthy buyers.