Original faker to miss party in his honour

Karl Sim pictured at the Auckland Art Gallery in 1997 with the famous original and his infamous copy of C F Goldie's A Good Joke. PHOTO/APN

Mangaweka's biennial Fakes & Forgeries expo will be a month too late for the north Rangitikei town's famous son, Karl Sim.

The celebrated forger - the first New Zealander to be convicted of art forgery - died in Auckland on October 21, aged 89.

He was born in Mangaweka.

His memory will be "honoured" at the Fakes & Forgeries expo on November 16 when artists are invited to copy a painting masterpiece.

But they will not try to pass their work off as the original - unlike Sim, who was born in Mangaweka in 1923, and copied great Kiwi artists such as Rita Angus, Charles F Goldie, Francis Hodgkins, Colin McMahon and Petrus van der Velden, signing their names to his work. He also forged Rembrandts and Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

He ran an art and antique shop in Foxton, from where he sold the forgeries before being arrested in 1985 and convicted on 40 counts of forgery. He was fined $1000 and ordered to paint the Foxton Town Hall and public toilets as part of 200 hours' community service.

Sim changed his name by deed poll to Carl Feodor Goldie so he could legally sign his "genuine fakes" in the manner of acclaimed artist C F Goldie.

He was the special guest at the inaugural Mangaweka Fakes & Forgeries art exhibition in 2007 and organiser Richard Aslett last week posted on his website: "You will be missed, but most certainly never forgotten."

The expo will be held at Mangaweka's Yellow Church Gallery and Mr Aslett said there was $500-plus in prizes for the best copies.

Entry forms and details can be found at: www.freewebs.com/mangawekagallery