Like most forgers, Keating saw the art market as corrupt, only benefiting the wealthy; he said that “I flooded the market with the work of Palmer and many others . . . Not for gain (I hope I am no materialist) but simply as a protest against the merchants who make capital out of those I am proud to call my brother artists, both living and dead.” Keating, a British painter and forger, claims to have painted more than 2,000 imitations by 100 different artists, the most common being Samuel Palmer and John Constable. He often planted “time bombs” in his paintings—either writing snide remarks on the canvas before painting or using outdated materials. In 1977, he was put on trial. However, all charges were dropped against him after an almost fatal motorcycle incident. After recovering, he made started selling paintings, this time under his own name, and even hosted Tom Keating on Painters, a TV program teaching his way of painting.
By Caroline Scarola
Source:
Weinbaub, Bernard. “A Report From London.” The New York Times 19 September 1976. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/19/archives/a-report-from-london-watercolorgate-whimsy-fakery-and-esthetic.html