Hugo Larsen, false paintings

I am of course both happy and proud when I see other people making an effort to promote Hugo Larsen's name and art.

But I am definitely not content when I see more or less professional art dealers and others try to prosper from Hugo Larsen's good name and reputation when selling mediocre paintings that have absolutely nothing to do with Hugo Larsen.

During the last year I have seen three false attributions to Hugo Larsen, funny enough all in Germany. In most cases I have succeded in persuading the seller to remove the attribution, but not always. Hence this page, warning prospective misusers of his name. I follow the market closely and I will react promptly if I see any attempt to abuse his name.

November 2008: Yet another false Hugo Larsen painting for sale

H.V. Larsen: Marine, 1935

It seems that Hugo Larsen has become particularly famous in Germany, since I started my project. At least, it is remarkable that no less than three false Hugo Larsen paintings have been on the market in Germany during the last year.

This particular painting is a classic motive. It has been used by an innumerable number of Danish artists, but never by Hugo Larsen. This one is painted by a mediocre painter who has signed it H.V. Larsen in 1935. Let the painter rest in peace.

The problem here is that the seller originally tried to associate the painting with the name and CV of Hugo Larsen. To the virtue of the seller he immediately removed the painting from eBay when I told him about his mistake.

The painting was for sale on eBay in the beginning of November 2008. If it reoccurs on eBay, you can find it here: cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320291603179).

Sepember 2008: False Hugo Larsen for sale on ebay!

H. Larsen: Three Fishing Boats in High Sea

Well, well. Who would have imagined that Hugo Larsen would become sufficiently famous to have two fakes sold in his name during one year. Never the less, this is what happens in 2008. The first one on Lauritz.com in Hamburg, the most recent one this marine on ebay.com. Although the signature says H. Larsen, one wonders what has lead the seller with the ambitious name kunsthaus-stuttgart to sell this piece of art in Hugo Larsen's name. Neither motive, technique nor signature bear any resemblance with those of Hugo Larsen. kunsthaus-stuttgart even stated that: "Wir garantieren für die Richtigkeit der Angaben sowie die Echtheit der angebotenen Artikel !" :-) Quite a remarkable statement, considering this piece of art is a fake. At least the attribution is. Fortunately, the seller removed the attribution when I asked him to and told him why.

If the auction has not been removed completely, you can see it on eBay: cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320291603179. The auction ended on 5 Sep 2008 at appr. 20:12 CEDT.

Hugo Larsen

False attributions to Hugo Larsen