Van Gogh's $25 Million Painting Is a Fake

The officials from The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, say that the only artwork by Van Gogh found in the gallery is in fact a fake.

Gerard Vaughan, the director of the gallery, stated that a group of specialists from Amsterdam tested the Van Gogh painting, called "Head Of A Man" and their final word was that it was not painted by the famous Dutch Master.

Although claiming "Head Of A Man" was not a work of Van Gogh the specialists mentioned that the painting was neither a forgery.

It is worth mentioning that the work of the Dutch Master was acquired by The National Gallery of Victoria in 1940 for 2196 pounds. Till now the work was worth $25 million.

Mr. Vaughan mentioned that there has been no evidence that could suggest the fact that someone made the painting at a later date so later to pass it off as Van Gogh's work.

"Head Of A Man" is a 33cm x 40cm work that was supposedly painted in Paris in 1886. The painting was then sent to the Van Gogh Museum. In 2006 followed its loan to the Dean Gallery, a public institution located in Edinburgh.

During an exhibition called Van Gogh and Britain: Pioneer Collectors London's, The Sunday Times published several claims made by the specialists of Van Gogh works. They stated that "Head Of A Man" was incorrectly attributed.

In August 2006, the NGV assumed the risk of responding to the claims. It outlined that it looked forward to conduct the examinations of Van Gogh's work as soon as it reaches Melbourne. Afterwards NGV welcomed discussion regarding the provenance of the painting.

In September, after the exhibition closed, the NGV took it home through Amsterdam so the Van Gogh Museum experts could test it.

After specialists examined the painting, the spokeswoman for the Van Gogh Museum stated on behalf of Van Gogh experts that they do not comment any matters related to the National Gallery of Victoria painting.