Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Ceci n’est pas un McCahon


Lookalikes are one thing, but here on Trademe is the next big step – the direct copy. This ‘McCahon’ is the second the vendor duncstar claims to have put up on the site. The first “in a similar style” apparently “got a rapturous email from the buyer!” Of course there are copyright issues to burn here around McCahon’s 1959 work He is calling Elias. The fact that Duncstar’s version is virtually the same size counters the tradition that copies are smaller or bigger than the original. Although the Trademe McCahon appears to be unsigned and is represented as a fake, it is not hard to imagine that somewhere down the track a signature may be added and an attempt made to resell the piece as an original. Duncstar’s only other offering on Trademe is a HMV chrome 'Pancake' heater.
Thanks for the point P. Since posting this item has been withdrawn from TradeMe