Scottish artist annoyed at eBay fakes

GLASGOW, Scotland, March 17 (UPI) -- A Scottish artist says forgeries of his work have surfaced in the past year, many of them offered for sale on eBay.

Peter Howson wants the online auction site to do more to protect potential buyers and the good name of artists, The Scotsman reports.

He said he learned of one forgery when his stepdaughter saw it on eBay and thought the style was off. He later found out that the fake "Steam Age," a poor copy of one of his actual paintings, had been purchased from a Glasgow auction house by the person who put it on eBay.

The painting sold on eBay for 900 pounds (almost $1,800), less than one-quarter of the price the original would have fetched.

"This is not something that is going to go away," Howson said. "It is a constant nightmare to keep track of and it makes a mockery of my work."

Howson said he believes one or two people are mass-producing fakes and he plans to track them down. His work has attracted celebrity buyers like Madonna and David Bowie, making him a target for forgers, something he calls "bloody annoying."