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Van Gogh Auction Postponed as Authenticity Checked

Fri Dec 12,12:31 PM ET

PORTETS, France (Reuters) - The auction of a newly discovered Van Gogh painting thought to be worth a small fortune has been postponed so that experts from Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum can check its authenticity.

The small town of Portets in southwestern France had been braced for a flood of visitors on Saturday, the day initially set to auction the painting of field workers which was bought at a flea market 12 years ago for 1,500 euros ($1,837). "The Van Gogh Museum offered late in the afternoon (on Thursday) to have another look at the painting, to carry out a fresh examination," auctioneer Eric Le Blay told Reuters.

Other experts and restorers say it is genuine, according to Le Blay, but the Van Gogh Museum has yet to deliver its verdict.

"In the interests of transparency, we prefer to postpone the sale. Based on the results, we will put the painting up for sale again," Le Blay said, adding he hoped the move would calm a wave of controversy that has erupted over the work's authenticity.

The small oil-on-wood painting depicting farm laborers under a heavy sky had been missing for close to a century when a eagle-eyed man spotted it in a second-hand market on the edge of Paris and noticed the signature "Vincent" in a corner.

An Italian laboratory identified its pigments as dating from the 19th century and said the colors were identical to other Van Gogh paintings and the signature at least a century old.

Another test showed the varnish also matched the type used by Van Gogh, who often painted flowers and fields.

Van Gogh expert Benoit Landais said he was convinced the work was an original. He told Le Blay it was painted in the Netherlands in 1883 and listed in an inventory made in 1890 after Van Gogh committed suicide. From 1894, it was lost.

Le Blay said earlier this week that bidding would start at 1.0-1.5 million euros but could reach double that. ($1=.8164 Euro)