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Concerns Voiced Over Chinese Mass-Produced Oil Paintings

China might be mass producing art, something which has been an individual skill, talent and passion, making interpretation of landscapes and still-life objects trivial and not special. Artists groups have voiced concerns in the U.S. over the authenticity and originality of some oil paintings imported from China. Art Print Issues, a digital newsletter reporting on the art print market, addresses the state of affairs in its November issue. These oil paintings are created using assembly line techniques where individual artists specialize in backgrounds, faces and so forth.

According to a new item on his Website, Thomas Arvid, a popular and successful print artist who specializes in painting wine, had knock-off works removed from the booths of offending companies at the combined Decor Expo and Artexpo Atlanta shows in September. Arvid also made news when, with the help of the U.S. Marshall?s office, he seized 146 counterfeit pieces of his work from a gallery in the resort town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. A visitor to the gallery tipped off Arvid?s office. The pieces, apparently produced in China, were selling for prices of $20 -$60. Arvid?s fine art prints typically sell between $1,000 and $2,000. His originals sell for more than $60,000.

While high profile industries such as software and entertainment have had an ongoing front-page battle over piracy issues with products being illegally manufactured in China, the decorative art and wall decor industry has not been immune to knock-offs. Nor is the growing threat less serious to them. For years, art publishers who produce fine art prints, art posters and gicl?es have sought to keep illegal copies from importers of flat oil paintings out of the tradeshows where they compete. Due to banding together to form the Art Copyright Coalition and to more vigorous individual defense of their intellectual property rights, publishers have had limited success in keeping copies of their work being displayed at shows.