Fake? Van Gogh Works Under Scrutiny

Two top museums and a Japanese insurance agency have begun an investigation to determine the authenticity of three of Vincent Van Gogh’s famous sunflower paintings.

The probe is a joint initiative involving Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum, London’s National Gallery and Japan’s Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Co., Dutch media reported Saturday. All three parties own sunflower paintings, which are among the Dutch master’s best-known works.

The investigation was sparked by a recent claim that the Japanese company’s Van Gogh, purchased in 1987 for $39.5 million, is a fake. It is one of three showing 14 sunflowers set against a pale green background.

The Sunday Times in London reported last month that art writer Geraldine Norman, after a yearlong investigation, concluded that Yasuda’s painting was “almost certainly” done by French artist Claude-Emile Schuffenecker and not Van Gogh.

That was only one in a series of claims about fake Van Goghs, according to experts at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, who hope the investigation will end all speculation.