Image copyright Musée Terrus Image caption More than 80 paintings said to be by Étienne Terrus were fake (this one, of Collioure in the Pyrenees, is real and is now on display)

A French museum dedicated to painter Étienne Terrus has discovered paintings it thought were by him were fakes.

The Terrus museum in Elne in the south of France discovered 82 works originally attributed to the artist were not painted by him.

More than half the collection is thought to be fake. The paintings cost about €160,000 (£140,000).

Staff at the museum were not aware of the forgeries until a visiting art historian alerted them.

The council in Elne bought the paintings, drawings and watercolours for the museum over a 20-year period.

Eric Forcada, an art historian, contacted the museum in the town near Perpignan several months ago to express his doubts about the authenticity of the paintings.

The museum assembled a committee of experts from the cultural world, who inspected the works and concluded that 82 of them had not been painted by the Elne-born artist.

The news was announced on Friday as the museum opened after a renovation.

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In interviews on Friday, the mayor of the Pyrenees town, Yves Barniol, said the situation was "a disaster" and apologised to those who had visited the museum in good faith.

Terrus was born in 1857 and died in 1922 in Elne, although he lived most of his life in Roussillon, also in the Pyrenees. He was a close friend of painter Henri Matisse.

Image copyright Musée Terrus Image caption The authentic Vue Cathédrale remains on display

Some of the paintings show buildings that were built after Terrus' death, France 3 said.

The town hall has filed a complaint against those who ordered, painted, or sold the fake paintings.

Local police are investigating the case, which they say could affect other regional artists too.</s>An art historian helping prepare an exhibit on French painter Etienne Terrus at a small, state-owned museum devoted to the artist in southern France noticed something odd.

Some of the paintings attributed to Terrus, a contemporary of Henri Matisse, depicted buildings constructed after his death in 1922, reported The Telegraph. A subsequent review of the museum’s collection found 82 of its 142 paintings are forgeries.

“It’s a catastrophe,” Yves Barniol, the mayor of Elne, France, told the publication. “I put myself in the place of all the people who came to visit the museum, who saw fake works of art, who paid an entrance fee. It’s intolerable, and I hope we find those responsible.”

About $170,000 had been spent on the fake oil paintings, watercolors and drawings, collected over the past 20 years by two local groups and the Elne town government, reported The New York Post.

News of the forgeries was announced Friday as the museum reopened following a $365,000 renovation, according to the publication.

Art historian Eric Forcada, who oversaw the Terrus collection during the renovation, first alerted museum officials to the possible forgeries, reported France 24. The museum then assembled a team of experts to examine the collection.

Barniol told The Telegraph that museum officials are still considering how to deal with the problem. “We will continue to promote local art,” he said.

Terrus was born in 1857 and died in 1922 in Elne, near the Spanish border, but spent most of his life in Roussillon, also in the Pyrenees, reported BBC News. Along with Matisse, he also was a friend of painter Aristide Maillol.

Police are investigating the counterfeit paintings found in the Elne museum, the network reported.

“We know there have been a lot of forgeries circulating, and we believe a well-organized network was behind this,” a police source told The Telegraph. Art experts say up to 20 percent of the paintings in major museums across the world may be forgeries.</s>'Collioure in the Pyrenees' by Étienne Terrus Musée Terrus

A French museum dedicated to the works of painter Etienne Terrus has discovered a significant number of paintings thought to be his were fakes.

The Terrus museum in Elne, in the south of France, discovered 82 works from its collection had been incorrectly attributed to the artist.

According to the BBC, more than half of the collection was fake - dwindling in value from their original prince of £140,000.

Staff at the museum said they were not aware of the forgeries until a visiting art historian informed them.

The collection of painting s, drawings and watercolours was built over a two-decade period. The shocking news announced on Friday as the museum opened following a renovation.

In an interview on Friday, Yves Bariol, mayor of the Pyrenees town, called the situation "a disaster" and apologised to those who had previously visited the museum.

Local police are investigating the case, which they say could affect other regional artists.

Terrus was born in 1857 and died in 1922 in Elne. He was a close friend of the painter Henri Matisse.</s>A museum in France that paid $256,000 for 82 works it believed were painted by Etienne Terrus, has discovered they are fakes.

An art historian alerted the museum some of its works might be forgeries. (Credit: ABC licensed)

The Terrus museum in Elne, which sits near the border with Spain and is dedicated to the painter, announced that the works originally attributed to Etienne Terrus had been created by someone else, local media has reported.

"I put myself in the place of all the people who came to visit the museum, who saw fake works, who took a ticket of entry, whatever the price."

The paintings, drawings and watercolours that make up more than half of the museum's collection cost about 160,000 euros ($256,000) and were bought in the 20 years leading up to 2010, the BBC reports.

Art historian Eric Forcada contacted the museum several months ago to share his suspicions over the origins of the works.

The museum assembled a panel of experts which later confirmed Mr Forcada's doubts.

French police have launched an investigation into the alleged forgery and fraud.

Terrus was born in 1857 and died in 1922, and lived most of his life in Roussillon.

He was also friends with renowned painter Henri Matisse.</s>A French museum dedicated to painter Étienne Terrus has discovered paintings it thought were by him were fakes.

The Terrus museum in Elne in the south of France discovered 82 works originally attributed to the artist were not painted by him.

More than half the collection is thought to be fake. The paintings cost about €160,000 (£140,000).

Staff at the museum were not aware of the forgeries until a visiting art historian alerted them.

The council in Elne bought the paintings, drawings and watercolours for the museum over a 20-year period.

Eric Forcada, an art historian, contacted the museum in the town near Perpignan several months ago to express his doubts about the authenticity of the paintings.

The museum assembled a committee of experts from the cultural world, who inspected the works and concluded that 82 of them had not been painted by the Elne-born artist.

The news was announced on Friday as the museum opened after a renovation.
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In interviews on Friday, the mayor of the Pyrenees town, Yves Barniol, said the situation was "a disaster" and apologised to those who had visited the museum in good faith.

Terrus was born in 1857 and died in 1922 in Elne, although he lived most of his life in Roussillon, also in the Pyrenees. He was a close friend of painter Henri Matisse.

Some of the paintings show buildings that were built after Terrus' death, France 3 said.

The town hall has filed a complaint against those who ordered, painted, or sold the fake paintings.

Local police are investigating the case, which they say could affect other regional artists too.</s>A panel of experts was then called upon to judge whether over half the collection was the work of the Elne-born artist—they confirmed Forcada's suspicions that Terrus was not the creator.

The pieces were bought by Elne's local authority for the museum over a 20-year period, with the last being acquired in 2010.

Mayor of Elne Yves Barniol called the discovery a "disaster". "I put myself in the place of all the people who came to visit the museum, who saw fake works, who bought a ticket of entry, whatever the price, it's unacceptable," he said. "I hope we can find those responsible."

The city has filed a complaint on the grounds of forgery and fraud, according to France Bleu.

Police in the region are now investigating the trafficking of other artworks on top of Terrus'.

The news was announced Friday after the museum reopened following renovations.</s>An art gallery in the south of France has discovered that more than half of its collection of paintings are forgeries.

An art gallery in the south of France has discovered that more than half of its collection of paintings are forgeries.

Art gallery discovers 'more than half' its paintings are fakes

The state-owned museum dedicated to the Catalan artist Étienne Terrus in Elne spent an estimated €160,000 on the fakes over 20 years.

Doubts about the collection of paintings, drawings and watercolours were first raised by art historian Eric Forcada several months ago. He noticed that some of them depicted buildings that were only constructed after Terrus' death in 1922.

A committee of experts have now confirmed that 82 of the 140 works were not painted by the artist, who was a close friend of Henri Matisse. "It is a catastrophe," said Yves Barniol, the Mayor of Elne.

"I put myself in the place of all the people who came to visit the museum, who saw fake works, who took a ticket of entry, whatever the price. "It is unacceptable and I hope we find those responsible."

The municipal council has recently invested €300,000 on renovating the Terrus Museum. Police are now investigating allegations of forgery and fraud and suspect the counterfeiting may extend to other regional artists and museums.

It has been estimated that at least 20pc of the paintings held by major galleries are fake.</s>A city-owned museum in southern France dedicated to painter Etienne Terrus has made a startling discovery: its vast collection of the artist’s works contained many worthless fakes.

The Terrus museum in Elne learned of the forgeries from an art historian, the Telegraph reported Saturday. He examined paintings the museum owned that showed buildings that were built after Terrus died in 1922. The painter and artist Henri Matisse were close friends.

Experts confirmed the fraud was widespread, the paper reported. Of the museum’s 140 Terrus works, 82 were fakes.

“It’s a catastrophe,” said Yves Barnoid, the mayor of Elne, which is Terrus’ birthplace. “I put myself in the place of all the people who came to visit the museum, who saw fake works of art, who paid an entrance fee. It’s intolerable and I hope we find those responsible.”

The museum paid over the years more than $194,000 in municipal funds to acquire the fakes, the television station France 24 reported.

Police in Elne seized the forgeries and suspect the culprits may be an art forgery ring specializing in Catalan painters that is now under investigation, according to the station.

News of the museum's discovery was announced on Friday as the museum reopened after a renovation, the BBC reported.</s>More than half the paintings owned by a southern French museum are worthless fakes, and authorities fear more forgeries may be on display at other public galleries.

The small museum in Elne, dedicated to local artist Etienne Terrus, a contemporary of Henri Matisse, learned that 82 of its 140 works are fakes after art historian Eric Forcadea raised the alarm.

Forcadea noticed while helping to prepare an exhibit that some of the paintings attributed to the Terrus featured buildings built after his 1922 death.

The state-owned Terrus Museum had a committee of experts inspected the works and concluded that many were not been painted by the Elne-born artist.

Roughly $170,000 was paid for the phony oil paintings, watercolors and drawings over the past few decades. Two local groups raised money to buy others, and more were donated to the museum run by the local city hall.

“It’s a catastrophe,” Yves Barniol, the mayor of Elne, near the Spanish border, told The Telegrah. “I put myself in the place of all the people who came to visit the museum, who saw fake works of art, who paid an entrance fee. It’s intolerable and I hope we find those responsible.”

Barriol said the city recently invested $365,000 refurbishing the museum. “We will continue to promote local art.”

The municipality filed legal complaints for forgery and fraud, which can help spur a broader investigation. Police seized the fakes and are trying to trace the forgers and dealers who sold them.

Detectives suspect that other museums may also contain large numbers of forged works attributed to southern French artists. “We know there have been a lot of forgeries circulating and we believe a well-organised network was behind this,” a source told the Telegraph.

Art experts estimate that at least 20 per cent of paintings owned by major museums across the world may not be the work of the purported artists.</s>An art gallery dedicated to the work of Catalan artist Etienne Terrus - a close friend of Henri Matisse - has discovered more than half of its paintings are fake.

French media reported that the state-owned museum in Elne in the south of France could have spent as much as €160,000 (£140,000) on the forgeries over a 20-year period.

Staff at the museum were unaware of the fakes until art historian Eric Forcada flagged his suspicions several months ago.

He noticed some of the buildings shown in the drawings and watercolours were erected following the artist's death in 1922.

A group of experts reportedly inspected the works of art and confirmed 82 of the 140 pieces were not produced by Terrus.

The Mayor of Elne, Yves Barniol, called the situation "a catastrophe" on Friday as it was announced when the museum opened following a renovation.

He apologised to those who had visited the museum and thought they had seen genuine works of art by Terrus.

France Bleu reported him as saying: "I put myself in the place of all the people who came to visit the museum, who saw fake works, who took a ticket of entry, whatever the price.

"It is unacceptable and I hope we find those responsible."

Police in France have now launched an investigation into allegations of fraud and forgery and have warned other regional artists and museums may have fallen victim to counterfeiting too.
82 paintings at a museum dedicated to Étienne Terrus in Elne, France, are revealed as forgeries.