A federal judge in Oregon has sentenced a 75-year-old man to a year and a day in prison after authorities said he faked works by well-known artists and sold the knockoffs to a dozen unsuspecting buyers.
Larry Ulvi of Portland was sentenced Tuesday after prosecutors said a search of his apartment turned up 160 paintings, many done in the style of Mark Tobey, an abstract-expressionist artist who died in 1976.
Ulvi pleaded guilty to mail fraud last summer.
Prosecutors say Ulvi pocketed thousands of dollars from gallery owners and created uncertainty about the authenticity of Tobey paintings and drawings that remain in the marketplace.
They say Ulvi has been unwilling to lead them to other fakes.
Public defender Alison Clark asked U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jones to place Ulvi on probation, citing his age and health problems.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
He must have been a VERY GOOD forger if his paintings created such uncertainty in the art world about the original artist’s (Mark Tobey) paintings. I’m glad that (probably due to his age & apparent health problems) the judge sentenced him to only a year & 1 day, instead of something stupid (like decades +).
“many in the style of Mark Tobey, an abstract-expressionist artist who died in 1976.”
Nothing abstract-expressionist about the picture illustrated here.