Polish art collection could contain fakes

Several key pieces in a huge art collection offered by a Polish art collector for permanent display in Malta have been deemed to be potential fakes, The Times has learnt. Works ostensibly by Pablo Picasso, Michelangelo, Henri Lebasque, John Constable, Chaime Soutine and Odilon Redon, belonging to collector Zdzislaw Bieganski have failed attribution tests set by art scholars from some of the world’s leading museums. Experts must now study the pieces further to determine whether the paintings were created by members of the artists’ workshops, painted by their followers or even possibly forged. Two other works by art masters that form part of Mr Bieganski’s huge collection have passed the tests and are most likely authentic, although their provenance must first be confirmed before they can be announced. Amassed over a lifetime of collecting art, Mr Bieganski, 92, has offered to leave his collection of some 2,000 pieces to the self-named Bieganski Foundation on permanent display in Malta. His offer is conditional on the Government finding a suitable venue to house the collection. Some months ago, Mr Bieganski told the Government to “hurry up”, warning that if he...