Whether the paintings at the Paintings Returned from Europe in HCM City are original or not remain unclear as the exhibition came to an end while investigation is on-going.

Collector Vu Xuan Chung takes the paintings away after exhibition ends

On July 22, collector Vu Xuan Chung arrived at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts to take all 17 paintings after the exhibition ended. He hasn't responded to the museum's claim that 15 out of 17 paintings aren't original.

Trinh Xuan Yen, vice head of Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts said they had asked Chung to continue displaying the paintings at the museum for investigation but looked like he didn't agree.

"We reported this case to relevant agencies but there hasn’t been any decision to temporarily seize the paintings and the museum doesn’t have the authorisation. Even the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism must follow the law. There is no legal ground to seize the paintings. We fulfilled out obligations after the exhibition ended." he said.

Chung remains silent

Le Huy Tiep from the Vietnam Fine Arts Association said the authorities must tighten their grip on the art market. He warned that fake paintings would damage the local art scene and reputation of Vietnam's art on international market.

The Paintings Returned from Europe Exhibition ran from July 10 to 21 to introduce 17 paintings by famous Vietnamese artists. Some people who went to the exhibition claimed that some of the paintings were fake.

The museum announced on July 19 that 15 paintings weren't of clear origin, but had yet to provide any evidence to justify their claims of forgeries. Two other paintings, one inscribed with the name Ta Ty and another attributed to Sy Ngoc appear to actually belong to other painters. They then asked to keep the paintings at museum for further research.