Everyone stared at Darryl and the fold that he had made on the painting.
Darryl laughed. "Mister Austin, you said that if the painting is fake, you will retire from the antique business?"
Austin dared not reply after he saw the Gull Folding Method. Prior to that, he had sought the help of dozens of antique appraisers, and all of them had confirmed that the painting was genuine. Darryl was not even someone famous in the field; how could he determine that the painting was a fake one?
Austin got upset. "Yes, and I will repeat it. If this painting is a fake, I shall leave the antique business! However, if it were proven to be genuine, then you shall kneel and apologize to me!"
Darryl took a deep breath. "Watt Thompson had painted many paintings in his lifetime; however, not many were retained. In the early twentieth century, there was an artist named Herman Landy, who had admired Thompson's painting so much that he kept many of the original paintings. He spent many years imitating Thompson's work."
Darryl continued to say "This Tiger Roar Mountain painting should be one of his works."
Someone in the crowd asked "How can you prove what you have just said?"
Darryl shook his head and said "Herman had excellent painting skills; his Thompson paintings were near to perfection. Most professional appraisers would not be able to differentiate between them."
Then, Darryl pointed to the fold. "However, no matter how good his skills, Herman had overlooked a crucial part, and that was the paper he used for the painting."
"Watt Thompson used art paper produced by the Hill family for his paintings. Those papers were very famous during that time. However, the production line was shut down sometime later."
"The Hill family's art paper had an exceptional quality; no matter how hard one folded the paper, it would always return to its original state. It would never wrinkle. Fake paintings would never be produced with the same type of paper."
Wow!
Everyone stood closed to take a better look at the fold.
Even Lily and Yvonne could not help themselves; they went closer to observe the painting, too. Darryl was right; the fold was still there, and the paper showed no sign of recovering.
Was the painting a fake?
Yvonne shivered as she looked at Darryl with deep admiration and respect.
'He as not a useless ma...'
Matt held his fist tightly; he wanted to argue with Darryl, but he could not. he thought that the painting was genuine...
How could he, the apprentice of a famous antique appraiser, lose to a live-in son-in-law?
Matt's face reddened! He took the painting and said "I still think that the painting is genuine. I will call my master."
He took out his cellphone and video-called his master.
Everyone was amazed when they saw the name on Matt's cell phone screen.
Master Simon Joe?
The call was connected almost immediately. An eldery man appeared on the screen. He was petite-sized, but he looked wise.
It was Master Joe!
Everyone was stunned when they saw him on the screen.
Matt enjoyed all the attention he commanded at that moment. He quickly moved the camera toward the painting and asked "Master, this is a Watt Thompson painting. Please take a look if it is genuine."
They would have the truth once Simon opened his mouth. Who would dare to doubt the words of the Master Antique Appraiser?
Simon took a look at the painting and said "The Tiger Roar Mountain painting? The tiger looked lively and energetic. This is a genuine painting!"
Everyone was amazed when they heard that.
