Scots Picasso faker accused of trying to sell dodgy Vettrianno and Sargent artwork

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An artist who claimed he’d found a £100million Picasso in his attic, which was exposed as a fake, has been accused of attempting to sell more dodgy artworks.Dominic Currie hit the headlines in 2015 when he claimed to have found the masterpiece in a suitcase with other valuables – gifted to his mother by a Russian soldier.His story fell apart when art experts insisted it was a fake and he later admitted the whole story was made up as an “experiment”.Now a Scots auction house has raised concerns after Currie attempted to sell paintings by American portrait artist John Singer Sargent and Fife painter Jack Vettriano, which, if real, could be worth more than £100,000.Myra Philp, who own Parkers Auction House in Methil, Fife, has told how Currie approached her with a view to selling the paintings – which he claimed had belonged to his dead mother-in-law and had been found in a shed.She says she attempted to verify the artworks and established that they were fakes after consulting with experts.

Currie presented the works to Myra on February 23 along with some examples of his own pop art, including one cartoon of a woman’s head with a speech bubble saying: “No again.” Myra said: “He might think this was worth a go, and even that there was no harm in it, but if we’d agreed to put this on our brochure for our next sale, as he wanted, it could have finished us.

Like lots of other businesses, we were hit hard by Covid and only just stayed in business. “We’ve been here 10 years now and are trusted by the people who buy from us.” She added: “Making a mistake with a fake artwork would kill our credibility and our business.