ARE FORGED BRILLO BOXES ON THE MARKET?
Die Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that some of Andy Warhol’s Brillo boxes might be forgeries. The original boxes, which were created in 1964, have since captured six-figure prices at auctions. According to a recent report in the Swedish newspaper Expressen, some of the prized boxes may have been made in Malmö in 1990—three years after Warhol’s death.
How did the fakes surface in Sweden? In 1968, Stockholm’s Moderna Museet ordered five hundred original Brillo boxes from America for a Warhol exhibition. To fill in some gaps in the installation, Pontus Hultén, who was then head of the museum and who died last year, is said to have ordered extra boxes, which were made in Sweden, with Warhol’s permission and according to the artist’s specifications. These 1968 copies can today garner up to 100,000 euros ($135,238) when accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
According to the Expressen report, in the mid-nineties, Hultén signed similar certificates for Brillo boxes that were made in 1990 in Malmö and shown in an exhibition in Saint Petersburg. These fake “Stockholm boxes” surfaced on the art market in 1994. In light of the report, current Moderna Museet director Lars Nittve has initiated an investigation into the newspaper’s claims.
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