“To make matters worse, eBay is ignoring the problem for the most part, saying they “are just a forum”. The only recourse artists have is to join eBay’s VeRO (verified rights owners) program. They can then report violations of their property rights. Ebay ignores reports of violations by anyone other than the property rights owner, which limits the ability for the eBay community to self police. EBay also does not allow its users to warn buyers of scams, and will suspend their account if they do so. It seems as if eBay is perpetuating the fraud instead of trying to stop it. Why? Because they are making money from these sales! Buyer beware!”

This is what the Craigslist person wrote: Garry Rochebrun Junior was born in Jacmel and raised in Port au Prince, Haiti. He is one of those growing, young, Haitian artist whose talent is now recognized internationally.
Present in Haiti in the most prestigious galleries, his works have also been featured in exhibitions in Europe, the USA and Canada.
Most of his paintings are naive jungle scenes with wild animals as well as landscapes and country life.
The very delicate rendering, the intensity and fullness of the colors he uses and his particular attention to detail, are the hallmarks of his work that have made his art very special.
Gary Rochebrun has 3 children and all his family live in a very cramped quarter in the Haitian capital, Carrefour, one of the poorest neighborhoods most affected by the earthquake.
Most of his masterpieces are painted late at night by the light of a lantern, because he doesn’t have electricity.
His ‘atelier’ is dark and crowded by the profusion of his art.

Thank you for any information you may have about this wonderful artist.

1. How expensive are the real pieces? Artists with high name recognition, whose works command high prices, are more likely to be faked. Examples include Bresil, Sejourne, Gourgue (JE), Andre Pierre, …

2. How recognizable (and copyable) is the artist’s style? Anyone with “some” exposure to Haitian art can spot what looks to be a Bresil, Duffaut, Casimir, Sejourne, or Andre Pierre from a mile away. This is especially true if their painting style is constant – as if the artist is following a formula. Artists whose works are widely varied are harder to copy, and probably harder to sell as copies.

3. How complex is the painting? It takes a lot of effort to get shading and effective color blending, and copy artists don’t have time to do this. Louverture Poisson is probably not faked, and even if he is, the copies are not very good. I see a lot of Paul Beauvoir’s on the internet, and I bet many are fakes. His style is easily recognized, repeated often, and uncomplicated to reproduce. Real paintings by Levoy Exil are not that expensive, but his style is so simple, recognizable, and gosh darned easy to copy, it comes as no surprise that fakes abound.

4. Board or Canvas? Board is more expensive than canvas. For large pieces, board is more bulky. Canvas pieces can be rolled up for shipment. I am more apt to trust a large piece done on board. Also, it’s important to know what medium the artist was known to use. I’d be real leery of a Poisson done on canvas, because everything I’ve seen by him was done on board.

5. Framed? Stretched? or shipped rolled? A high-end painting done over 30 years ago that has not been stretched and placed into a decent frame? Makes no sense to me! I won’t buy any painting on eBay that is shipped rolled, because it was probably painted “yesterday.” Is the frame contemporary with the painting? A 40-yr old painting should be in a 40-yr old frame.

What else does the guy sell (or buy) on eBay? If he’s selling a Bresil (shipped rolled), and he seems to sell a lot of Haitian art, and these sales include several recognizable artists like Duffaut, Bresil, Ismael, Exil, … – all shipped rolled – then maybe this guy is selling fakes.

What kind of photos are in the listing? If the listing includes just a small photo of the painting, and a close-up of the signature (gotta sell the signature), then I get suspicious. I want to see the frame, the nail holes in the canvas (if previously stretched), the back of the ENTIRE canvas, and multiple close-ups of the painting.

$100 for a fake? Nothing to sob about, assuming the painting looks decent. People buy cheap copies of expensive art all the time. I can’t feel bad because the “victim” was denied a bargain. If a victim paid $3,000 for a fake Sejourne, then I have some (but not a lot of) sympathy. Anyone who forks over $3,000 to a complete stranger on eBay for something he knows very little about probably deserves their fate.