Shaun Greenhalgh

This article is about the British art forger. For the Canadian lacrosse player, see Sean Greenhalgh.

Shaun Greenhalgh
Born19 September 1961
Bromley Cross, Lancashire, England, UK
Criminal statusReleased
Parent(s)George and Olive Greenhalgh
Criminal chargeConspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering
Penalty4 years and 8 months in prison

Shaun Greenhalgh (born 1961) is a British artist and former art forger. Over a seventeen-year period, between 1989 and 2006, he produced a large number of forgeries. With the assistance of his brother and elderly parents, who fronted the sales side of the operation, he successfully sold his fakes internationally to museums, auction houses, and private buyers, accruing nearly £1 million.[1]

The family have been described by Scotland Yard as "possibly the most diverse forgery team in the world, ever". However, when they attempted to sell three Assyrian reliefs using the same provenance as they had previously, suspicions were finally raised.[2]

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London held an exhibition of Greenhalgh's works from 23 January to 7 February 2010.[3]

The Metropolitan Police's Art and Antiques Unit built a replica model of the shed where the works were created. Many of Greenhalgh's fakes, including the Amarna Princess, a version of the Roman Risley Park Lanx, and works supposedly by Barbara Hepworth and Thomas Moran, were displayed.[4]

  1. ^ The Guardian "How garden shed fakers fooled the art world", 16 November 2007.
  2. ^ O’Neill, Sean; Jenkins, Russell (17 November 2007). "The £10m art collection that was forged by a family in their garden shed in Bolton". The Times. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011.
  3. ^ "Armana Princess: "I dismantled art forgers work without realising"". Bolton News. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  4. ^ "The Metropolitan Police Service's Investigation of Fakes and Forgeries – V&A future exhibitions". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 22 December 2009.