Hi. I'm hoping someone here might help in identifying the attached artworks. Could they be genuine Spare?
The draftsmanship looks well below the quality of his work that i've seen. The writing is passably convincing though, and maybe he drew these with his left hand, or while drunk, or while wearing oven-mitts, who knows? But i'm no expert.
Fortunately, @michael-staley is, and i am sure he can help here.
Except they were picked up at a flea market with other drawings, such as below. All obviously of some age.
Could they be genuine Spare?
No. They're both forgeries. I've seen a few Spare forgeries in my time, and these rank amongst the worst.
And this watercolour.. Almost identical to the Devil card in the AOS tarot, which was only discovered in 2013
And this
such as below. All obviously of some age.
The one at the top is a copy of one of Spare's drawings in an issue of Form or The Golder Hind. The one of the bottom is a copy of a drawing in The Book of Pleasure.
@michael-staley yes. Just wondered if I'd stumbled on the originals lol. Couldn't be that lucky I guess
And this
This is not Spare. It's not his line. If you compare the "signature" with the signatures on Spares from around 1908, there is no comparision.
What's your motive in seeked to have these pictures authenticated by Spare? They are not Spare, and your must surely know that.
@michael-staley no motive at all other than I'm not an expert and just seeking advice. But thank you.
no motive at all other than I'm not an expert and just seeking advice. But thank you.
My pleasure. Across the years I have come across one or two possible forgeries where it's very difficult to be sure one way or the other; after all, Spare would have been capable of having an off-day, like anybody else really. The first two pictures you posted were about as far removed from Spare as it would have been possible to be; I was surprised at how much they incensed me, to be honest.
Best wishes,
Michael.
@michael-staley yes, I could find nothing like them by him. It was the inclusion of the other pieces (especially the Tarot card) , all of an obvious age, which had me wondering. Thank you again.