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13

and see, look at this canvas and the cracked paint and everything--well, it is & not that its a [[?]], that it isn't."

McCarthy's cycnicism is not confined to those in the trade. "People let themselves get fooled. If I wanted a diamond, I'd go to the best Fifth Avenue jeweller. I wouldn't try to find it in a third-class auction. If I want a Cézanne, I'd go to Wildenstein or Knoedler or onw of those places. I know, I see 'em all. But, funny thing, about art buyers. Once a painting of a nude on a couch signed 'Renoir' came through. I phoned the lady and told her it was a fake. She didn't want to believe me so I called her down here. Two days before we'd gotten another nude on a couch--absolutely identical--also signed 'Renoir', though it wasn't either. I showed her the two together. She had to believe me, but she didn't want to."

The most notorious case of a collector who did not want to believe what a board of experts, including [[strikethrough]] three [[/strikethrough]] two universally respected museum directors and [[strikethrough]] one [[/strikethrough]] two of the best-known museum [[strikethrough]] conservators [[/strikethrough]] technical [[?]] men in America, said against his painting [[strikethrough]] concerns [[/strikethrough]] is that of William Goetz, then president of Universal-International Pictures and his painting "[[strikethrough]] Self-Portrait [[/strikethrough]] Study by Candle-light" [[strikethrough]] which was allegedly [[/strikethrough]] by Van Gogh. This is also a fascinating instance where [[strikethrough]] the [[/strikethrough]] T-men overruled the experts, [[strikethrough]] and [[/strikethrough]] reassured the owner and, to all intents and purposes [[strikethrough]] (especially those of upholding its monetary value as a Van Gogh) [[/strikethrough]] "cleared" the picture. This is what happened: