Hugo CARLBERG
1880–1943, Sweden

Oil on canvas, forestry work with a horse, 65x94 cm, signed "Hugo Carlberg". An area in the lower left corner is painted over and signing in the lower right edge is painted after the painting was completed. Hugo Carlberg painted with a fine, smooth brushwork, never so rough as this painting. It is produced by an amateur and not painted by Hugo Carlberg. The signing is also quite different from Carlberg. A true Carlberg painting cost 12,000 to 15,000 SEK. The prosecutor relied on evidence that the painting is examined with optical fibers which show an over painted area of the painting's lower left corner. In this context emerges the remains of an old signature. The district court's assessment: The painting is a forgery.