A few weeks ago, Mark Evanier said, “There is forged original artwork out there. Fake. Bogus. Fraud. Not actually by the person they say it’s by.” Amen. I now direct your attention to a press release for a charity auction at this link.
Autograph Store is proud to have provided these celebrity signed memorabilia items for the Make a Wish Foundation fundraisers:
1. Bruce Springsteen autographed guitar
2. Eric Clapton autographed guitar
3. Rolling Stones autographed record album
4. U2 autographed record album
5. Miley Cyrus autographed 16×20 photo
6. Jack Nicholson autographed 16X20 photo
7. Joe Torre & Rudy Giuliani autographed 16×20 photo
8. Julia Roberts & Richard Gere autographed 16X20 photo
9. Harry Potter Cast autographed 11X14 photo
10. The Jonas Brothers autographed 11X14 photo
11. Lance Armstrong autographed 11X14 photo
12. Charles Schulz Lucy sketch
13. Sylvester Stallone Boxing Glove
14. Muhammad Ali LeRoy Neiman Print
15. Barack Obama & Joe Biden autographed 8X10 photo
One of the items is a sketch of Lucy Van Pelt, supposedly drawn and signed by Charles M. Schulz. There are other Peanuts sketches available for charities to select for auction. Let’s take a look…
Charles Schulz – Snoopy – Signed & Framed Original Sketch
Charles Schulz – Snoopy as the “Red Baron” – Signed & Framed Original Sketch
Charles Schulz – Lucy – Signed & Framed Original Sketch
I don’t doubt these sketches are framed, but were any of then actually drawn by Charles M. Schulz? I doubt it. I can’t tell you if a Rembrandt preliminary drawing is authentic, but a brief glance is all I need to assume these weren’t done by Sparky Schulz. They’re most likely tracings. The flatness of the line, with its lack of variation in width, is one indication.
A week ago I featured Jean Vander Pyl, the woman who gave voice to Wilma Flintstone, so I’ll toss in this auction sketch, allegedly signed by Bill Hanna. It appears to me to have been drawn by the same hand that produced the Peanuts sketches.
Bill Hanna – Wilma Flintstone – Signed & Framed Original Sketch
I’m willing to give the sellers of items such as these the benefit of the doubt, that they procured them in good faith believing them to be genuine. They should, however, not be so quick to label sketches as genuine when it’s a relatively easy matter to check their authenticity.
Thank you, Doug. I’ve only just picked up two of the volumes of these and I am thouroughly enjoying them. I’m not comfortable in my own ability to judge yet so I will spend more time studying these.
Again thanks for the advice.
Jeff — The best way to spot a fake is to become familiar with the real thing. To do that you need to see originals. A visit to the Charles M. Schulz Museum would be the best way to do that, but if that isn’t feasible for you, I recommend the “Complete Peanuts” volumes published by Fantagraphics. Thanks to these books, it’s now possible to chart the development of Schulz’s style so you can learn how to place the time of any drawing to within a few years. Other than that, you’re stuck placing your trust in whomever is selling the sketch.
The MacPaint drawing sounds really interesting!
Please pardon my naivete but how does one know if they are getting something authetically sketched by CMS? I’ve wanted one since I was a little kid but have yet to follow through for fear of this very issue.
Hey, that’s super cool as well as being unique, Monte! That would be something to see.
Steve Jobs is supposedly looking better than he was, but last fall he was scary thin.
You know what I have? The only Snoopy ever drawn by my dad on MacPaint with the mouse! It’s pretty amazing. He did it back in ’85, I think on my 512 Mac. I’ve been trying for years to give it to Steve Jobs, but no one seems to be able to connect me directly to him.