Lawsuit alleges Warhol forgery scheme spanned US and Peru
A lawsuit alleges a forgery scheme in which works presented as Andy Warhols moved between the United States and Peru.
The claim was reported by ARTnews, whose account of the case links it to Richard Perlman. The verified summary does not give the court, the filing date, the number of works involved or the sum sought. The central accusation is plain: that pictures offered as Warhols were not genuine.
That is a serious allegation. Nothing has been proved.
Warhol, the American pop artist who died in 1987, remains one of the most traded names in modern art. He made paintings, drawings and screenprints, a process that produces multiple images from a prepared screen, often with the help of studio assistants. Because so much material circulates under his name, buyers rely heavily on provenance, the documented chain of ownership, and on printing and exhibition records.
A cross-border claim adds paperwork to trace. When a work travels internationally it passes through shippers, storage, customs declarations and dealers. Each handover should leave a record of who held the picture and what was said about it. Lawyers in forgery cases usually start there, testing each link against invoices, emails, photographs and prior sales.
A route described as spanning the United States and Peru is unusual in public Warhol disputes. Most cases centre on New York, London or Hong Kong, where the large auction houses hold their main sales. An international claim raises early practical questions about where a case will be heard and which law applies. Courts normally settle those questions before any argument about authenticity.
What makes this stand out for general readers is the test it sets up. A buyer does not need to be an expert to follow it. Was the work made by Warhol or his studio under his direction, or was it made later by someone else? Who said it was real, and what document did they rely on?
For now the lawsuit is only a claim. The defendants have the chance to respond, and a judge or jury will decide what the evidence supports. No finding of forgery has been made.
