art basel anaba

This is Marina Abramovic, not Joseph Beuys.


This is (Elaine) Sturtevant, not Andy Warhol.


This is Eric Doeringer, not Dana Schutz.


This is Earl M. Washington, not Rockwell Kent.

Earl M. Washington was selling prints at bookstores and on e-bay that he claimed were made by his great-grandfather in the thirties, mostly copies of other artists. The print pictured above is after Rockwell Kent, signed Earl M. Washington and dated 1931. BUT... the guy made up the whole story about his great-grandfather and was making the copies himself, in the nineties. So it is not a Rockwell but looks like one, it really is by the artist who signed it, but the date of 1931 is not true.

He has sold about 60,000 prints so far and is still doing it. You can buy them at Black Swan Books, where I took this photo. The back of the print has some explanatory text but no credit at all is given to Rockwell Kent. I said something to the owner about that but he got defensive.

Forbes published an article called Catch Me If You Can.


This is Thomas Moses, not Grandma Moses.

Thomas Moses and his brother Will Moses both learned to paint from their grandfather Forest Moses, who was the son of Grandma Moses.

I love the paintings of Grandma Moses, not so much Forest Moses, and Will Moses' stuff feels like hack-work; I very much like the paintings of Thomas Moses. Thomas is Will's older brother and they both began painting at about the same time, but Thomas had to stop for personal problems or something, and has started back up again relatively recently after a thirty-plus year break.

Grandma Moses painted mostly from memory, so although she was working in the 1940's and 1950's, the scenes depict life much earlier. The two living Moses brothers are both around sixty, but although they are painting scenes that pre-date their own births, they are also painting from memory - having spent their childhoods surrounded by the work of their grandfather and great-grandmother. I am fascinated by the whole Moses thing.

Thomas Moses has made a website, and I think he is even starting a blog!?!?


This is Richard Pettibone, not Frank Stella.

I told Richard Pettibone about Eric Doeringer and Richard Pettibone asked, "Does he do me?". That was funny.

Another lady at the same lecture started asking Richard Pettibone questions as if he were Ray Pettibon, it took her a while to get that she didn't just have his first name wrong, but that this was a completely different artist and she was at the wrong lecture. That was really funny, for Richard Pettibone HIMSELF to be confused for another artist, in the flesh!! Woah.

There was great deal of confusion about names and I am not sure what he was asked next, but he responded "you don't think I made up the name Pettibone, (do you)?". This was getting so weird because Raymond Pettibon did assume the surname Pettibon, his real last name is Ginn.

I got so dizzy with it all.


This is Vincent Van Gogh, not Millet.