England's most famous forgers

Sean Greenhalgh along with his 84-year-old father, George, and his mother, Olive, 83, have spent almost two decades creating fake paintings, sculptures and artefacts in a council house garden shed. In 2005, Sean tried to sell three stone objects he claimed to have fallen into his possession after lying neglected in a garage for decades to John Curtis, one of Britain's foremost antiquities experts. The sale was never made, and a few months later Curtis had suspicions about the three objects and called the police. Sean was a suspect in one of the biggest and longest-running art-forgery cases in history. Police experts stated that in 17 years, fake artworks worth 10m had been produced at the family's home in Bromley Cross.

The Greenhalghes had copied works by LS Lowry, Paul Gauguin and Barbara Hepworth. Bolton Museum had paid 440,000 for one of their phony Egyptian statues which experts thought it dated from 1350BC. Sean, George and Olive admitted to defrauding art institutions between 1989 and 2006. Sean Greenhalgh was sent to prison for four years and eight months. His mother received a suspended sentence; his father's case was suspended while medical reports were prepared.

The Greenhalghes are only three of many forgers in Europe. European police experts say that as much as half of the art in circulation on the international market could be forged and London is one of the most popular cities by forgers.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/the-counterfeiters-inside-the-world-of-art-forgery-764032.html