How a father and daughter duped NYC's art world with fake Warhols and Banksys
Jake Offenhartz/AP
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Jake Offenhartz/AP
NEW YORK — A little over a year ago, the New York City art dealer Robert Rogal received a visit to his private showroom from a young woman, who seemed eager to offload a family heirloom.
Introducing herself as Karolina Bankowska, she carried a framed painting signed by Andrew Wyeth, resembling the watercolor landscapes the celebrated artist had completed early in his career. Intrigued, Rogal accepted the piece on consignment, figuring it might fetch between $20,000 to $30,000 at auction.
"The provenance was a little fuzzy," he said. "But she seemed credible. It wasn't an obvious counterfeit."
In fact, Rogal now believes the painting was a fake — one of at least 200 carefully designed imitations that federal prosecutors say Bankowska, 26, and her father Erwin Bankowski, 50, tried to pass off to unwitting buyers.
On Tuesday, the duo pleaded guilty to defrauding their victims — including some of New York City's most prominent fine art auction houses — of at least $2 million.
The counterfeits, which were forged in Poland by an unnamed co-conspirator, were often reproductions of lesser-known works by prominent and prolific artists, like Banksy and Andy Warhol, prosecutors said. Their most profitable fake, purportedly by the artist Richard Mayhew, was sold by the auction house DuMouchelles last October for $160,000.
A representative for DuMouchelles said they had cooperated with federal authorities but were not authorized to discuss the sale further. Several other auction houses targeted in the scheme, including Bonhams, Phillips, Freeman's and Antique Arena, either declined or did not respond to inquiries.
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