The best price for a painting

An art academy holds an appraisal meeting every Thursday, where people can bring in the artwork and let experts identify its authenticity and value for free. Carmody, the head of the oil painting class, met a shabby, bearded man who called himself George, who was identifying a modernist painting on behalf of his sister by Carlton Sampson.

　　Carmody looked at the painting carefully and said: "Carlton Sampson is one of the famous modernist painters, and his paintings can be sold for 6,000 to 15,000 US dollars at market price. But I can't jump to conclusions right away with this one in your hand. If you are willing to leave the painting here for a few days, I would like Professor Hathaway to appraise it himself."

　　Carmody told George that Professor Hathaway was the head of the fine arts department and the most authoritative artist, art historian and art connoisseur in the country. After hearing this, George agreed and agreed to come back next Thursday.

　　On Thursday, George came to the appraisal meeting again and asked about the value of the painting. Carmody told George in a tone of regret that Professor Hathaway had scrutinized the painting extremely carefully, but unfortunately it was a fake, albeit an excellent imitation.

　　George asked unwillingly, "Do you have any special equipment? How can you tell that this is a fake painting?"

　　Carmody said: "The professor has a pair of fierce eyes, and with his experience, he can see whether the tiniest brushstrokes and tones are in line with the author's habits, and there are many other signs that you laymen do not understand."

　　"But my sister is in a hurry to spend the money!" George muttered. "We thought there would be a miracle."

　　Carmody smiled: "In a sense, a miracle happened."

　　"What do you mean?"

　　"Professor Hathaway liked the painting so much that he thought the forgery was an excellent teaching tool and was willing to pay $200 for it."

　　George asked, "$200? Can't it be more?"

　　"The maximum limit is $200, which is spent from the college's art department budget, and the professor doesn't have much leeway."

　　George came to the department office and saw Professor Hathaway sitting in a leather chair with a chic French-style writing desk in front of him. Professor Hathaway told George professionally that $200 was enough for a fake of pop art. George wanted to make a final bid: "Mr. Carmody said you thought it was an excellent forgery..."

　　"Oh, indeed, I think it was the work of a gifted painter." Professor Hathaway took out his checkbook, "Sadly, for hundreds of years, many talented artists would rather imitate the work of others than go Create your own work."

　　"If they have talent, why would they do that?" George asked.

　　"For money. If a painter can reproduce a convincing Rembrandt painting and sell it as a master original to a wealthy private collector, he will surely make a fortune, more than he can sell his original. Much more cost-effective."

　　George smiled and said, "I also want to know where to find a rich private collector and let me sell this painting for $15,000."

　　Professor Hathaway laughed loudly and said, "If I knew such a person, I would have been tempted to sell him my collection of fakes." He stood up and opened a spacious closet behind the desk. There are more than twenty oil paintings of different specifications, "See, they are all fakes - they are really well painted, just like your Sampson."

　　Professor Hathaway closed the closet and sat back at his desk. "Shall I write the check to you or your sister?"

　　"If you don't mind, give it to me. My name is Carlton Sampson. Don't you remember me, Professor? I was your student fifteen years ago, when you thought I had a great future."

　　Professor Hathaway's face suddenly turned ashen: "What?!" His eyes turned to the painting, "But... you, you can't be Carlton Sampson at all..."

　　"Oh, I could well be. You're not looking at a fake, but an original by Carlton Sampson, which I created with my honest hands three weeks ago and which you identified as a forgery. Don't you feel ashamed that you are the highest authority on art appraisal in the country?"

　　Professor Hathaway calmed down and said, "I still say it's a forgery, and you're not Carlton Sampson."

　　"This is my driver's license." Sampson pushed the document across the table, "Do you want me to draw a demonstration picture myself?"

　　"Then I made a mistake," the professor said. "Excuse me, I'm just a mortal."

　　"You can't be mistaken, because that's what you taught me to draw. Also, you compared it to another painting of mine - the one I donated to the Academy at the unveiling of the Academy's new museum six years ago. The one."

　　Professor Hathaway said, "You mean I deliberately said your painting was a forgery, why should I do that?"

　　Sampson grinned at him: "You just told me that you can sell it to private collectors at the highest market price for a huge profit. The paintings in your closet are replicas you painted with your own hands."

　　Professor Hathaway was a little pissed, and Sampson smiled and said, "Don't worry, Professor, don't you want to know how I got suspicious? I was visiting a friend in San Francisco a few weeks ago, and he introduced me to a man named Sanding's big entrepreneur, who has a large collection of pop art paintings, said that he also has my" Copper Pipe Second "in his collection. Inexplicable! I've only painted one painting of copper pipes in my life, and it was given to the college six years ago. Don't you think it's weird, Professor?"

Professor Hathaway narrowed his eyes slightly, noncommittal.

　　Sampson continued: "So I begged to see my painting again. Mr. Sandin showed me the painting, and it was indeed my work. I wondered to myself, did my alma mater sell the painting I donated? So when I came back I went to the Academy Museum and saw that the painting was still hanging in the museum. So I figured that if Sandin's painting was real, then the one in the museum must be a replica - by some scum who was trying to make money. All of a sudden I thought of Professor You, the master of art I admired in my student days, and an artist with a special talent for reproduction. How am I doing, Professor? "

　　Professor Hathaway sat blankly, and said with a pale face: "Suppose I am occasionally tempted... to forge some works? What are you going to do? Want to destroy my career? To damage the reputation I have built all my life? Are you trying to destroy me, Mr. Sampson?"

　　"No," Sampson said with a shrug, "I just want this job."

　　The professor stared blankly at him.

　　Sampson went on to say, "I'll never be more than a mid-level painter, but I'm a good replicator, and I'm better than you. I'm tired of working hard to paint something that's worth at most $15,000. So what I want is: 15% of the profit from selling the originals we collect, and we can expand your business by selling my better reproductions as originals. With the identification of a reliable expert like you, and then putting a logical source on them, who would ask questions? Do you understand what I mean? I swear, I can draw a good copy of any original in your closet. "

　　Professor Hathaway hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "I still agree with what I said fifteen years ago - Carlton Sampson was one of my most talented students."

　　Sampson pointed to a painting and said, "Just this one, how much do you estimate the original will sell for?"

　　"You can sell it anywhere 1 million."

　　"That's what I think is the best price for a painting," Sampson said with a smile.