Could my flea market art find be worth thousands?
Over the past few years, it’s struck me that there’s an increasingly huge number of fakes in Modern British art out there in the wild. And, yes, I use that word intentionally – fakes. Because that’s exactly what they are, as they are intended to deceive. And they’re often (slightly) mis-represented to make it appear that the picture has been missed, or hasn’t be researched properly, by those apparently in the know and offering it for sale. So it’s sitting there waiting for YOU.
I encountered one recently, and couldn’t help but buy it as it was a fixed price, rather than at an auction. But more on auctions later. Browsing around a flea market on the South Coast of the UK, I encountered this not-unappealing, brightly-coloured and highly stylised oil or acrylic on board. It was boldly signed ‘W.Scott 53’. The seller stated that he knew nothing about it, but said it was ‘kinda cool’ and had come from a house clearance.
The style, colours, perspective and signature would lead one to assume that it was by the progressive Modern British painter William Scott (1913-89), whose works regularly fetch many thousands, and even many hundreds of thousands, of pounds. Highly abstracted, there are even some forms here that you find in Scott’s still life paintings. It was £30. Tempting, no?
Could it be? Well, at first glance, it could be. That would make it a ‘sleeper’ – trade term used to indicate a valuable and/or desirable thing that hasn’t been recognised and has been missed when put up for sale, for whatever reason. As such, they’re typically valued at a fraction of their true financial value. Although the internet has led to a steep decline in ‘sleepers’, they do still exist. Especially in the offline retail market of charity shops, goodwills, flea markets, general estate sales, and house clearances…
To read the rest of this article and find out why it is a fake or worth a fortune, please visit my antiques, art & design journal on Substack by clicking here.
