Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Art - How To Spot Redd's Fake Painting And Statues

Pre-launch, there was much speculation that wily art dealer Crazy Redd would be selling his wares in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and following update v1.2.0, Crazy Redd returned along with the ability to expand your museum with an impressive art exhibit.

What's more, Redd can now be found every day by visiting Harv's island plaza and unlocking his mobile store. His daily selection is more limited, but completing your museum art gallery feels more do-able than ever.

However, becoming your island's resident culture vulture isn't without its pitfalls, and Redd's reputation as a dodgy dealer is well-earned. You'll have to have your wits about you when buying artwork from Redd, so we've put this guide together to help you spot fake paintings and statues and avoid getting swindled.

How to spot Fake Paintings and Statues In Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Wily art dealer Redd is your ticket to filling your expanded museum with famous artworks, although Redd also deals in fakes and forgeries and you'll have to have an eye for detail if you want to avoid wasting your bells on a fake.

While the lighting on his boat might be poor, Redd offers you the chance to inspect each artwork by asking to take a 'closer look'. You are able to zoom up close on the illuminated work of art and get a good look before purchasing, so be sure to check if it's the real deal before wasting your hard-earned Bells.

Don't know your Picassos from your Pollocks? Not sure how to tell a fake from a genuine work of art? The alphabetical lists below details exactly what to look out for with each piece, so scroll down and find out which items are genuine and which are fake.

Crazy Redd Fake Paintings Complete List

Note: THE FAKE ARTWORKS IN NEW HORIZONS ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE FAKES IN ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF! Many of the same paintings and statues appear, but the old information won't help you pick out a fake in New Horizons, so be careful!

A huge thanks to Animal Crossing World and u/Acadiaa for some of the key details below.

There are 30 paintings to collect in Animal Crossing: New Horizons:

• Academic Painting (Vitruvian Man - Leonardo Da Vinci): The fake Academic Painting has tea or coffee mug stains in the top right corner.

  

  
  
• Amazing Painting (The Night Watch - Rembrandt): The fake Amazing Painting removes the hat from the figure in black in the centre of the painting.

  

• Basic Painting (The Blue Boy - Thomas Gainsborough): The fake Basic Painting adds a solid fringe (or bangs, if you prefer) over the boy's forehead.

  

• Calm Painting (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte - Georges-Pierre Seurat): There is no fake version of the Calm Painting, so buy with confidence for a change!

  

• Common Painting (The Gleaners - Jean-François Millet): There is no fake version of the Common Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

• Detailed Painting (Rooster and Hen with Hydrangeas - Ito Jakuchu): The fake Detailed painting has purple flowers; the real Detailed Painting has blue flowers.

  

• Dynamic Painting (Great Wave off Kanagawa - Hokusai): There is no fake version of the Dynamic Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

• Famous Painting (Mona Lisa - Leonardo Da Vinci): The fake Famous Painting has the Mona Lisa's eyebrows pointing up with a disdainful expression that most people should be able to spot. We quite like it, though!

  

• Flowery Painting (Sunflowers - Vincent van Gogh): There is no fake version of the Flowery Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

• Glowing Painting (The Fighting Temeraire - Joseph Mallord William Turner): There is no fake version of the Glowing Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

• Graceful Painting (Beauty Looking Back - Hishikawa Moronobu): The fake Graceful Paintings features a much larger version of the woman that occupies most of the canvas. In the real Graceful Painting, the top third of the canvas is empty. This painting is 'haunted' and some fakes will change at a certain time of day. The haunted version will flip the image horizontally, and the woman's outline becomes visible on the rear of the painting.

  

• Jolly Painting (Summer - Giuseppe Arcimboldo): The fake Jolly Painting is missing the sprouting flower coming from the figure's chest in the bottom right corner of the original.
  

  

• Moody Painting (The Sower - Jean-François Millet): There is no fake version of the Moody Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

• Moving Painting (The Birth of Venus - Sandro Botticelli): The fake Moving Painting removes the trees just behind the figure on the right of the genuine painting.

  

• Mysterious Painting (Isle of the Dead - Arnold Böcklin): There is no fake version of the Mysterious Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

• Nice Painting (Young Flautist - Édouard Manet): There is no fake version of the Nice Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

• Perfect Painting (Apples and Oranges - Paul Cézanne): There is no fake version of the Perfect Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

• Proper Painting (A Bar at the Folies-Bergère - Édouard Manet): There is no fake version of the Proper Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

• Quaint Painting (The Milkmaid - Johannes Vermeer): The fake Quaint Painting has lots of milk pouring from the jug; the real Quaint Painting has only a very thin trickle of milk pouring from the jug.
  

  

• Scary Painting (Otani Oniji II - Tōshūsai Sharaku): The fake Scary Painting has comically sad eyebrows; the real Scary Painting has eyebrows with an angry frown. A 'haunted' version of this painting exists where the man is also smiling.

  

• Scenic Painting (The Hunters in the Snow - Pieter Bruegel): The fake Scenic Painting is missing a third hunter between the trees on the left.

  

• Serene Painting (Lady with an Ermine - Leonardo Da Vinci): The fake Serene Painting features a miscoloured grey/blue ermine (or stoat, if you prefer); the original is white/cream all over.

  

• Sinking Painting (Ophelia - John Everett Millais): There is no fake version of the Sinking Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

• Solemn Painting (Las Meninas - Diego Velasquez): The fake Solemn Painting has the man in the doorway in the background pointing upwards: in the real Solemn Painting he's reaching out in front of himself with his arm at an angle.

  

• Twinkling Painting (The Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh): There is no fake version of the Twinkling Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

• Warm Painting (The Clothed Maja - Francisco Goya): There is no fake version of the Warm Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

• Wild Painting Left Half (Wind God and Thunder God - Tawaraya Sotatsu): The fake Wild Painting Left Half switches the colour of the creature to green; the creature in the real Wild Painting Left Half is white.

  

• Wild Painting Right Half (Wind God and Thunder God - Tawaraya Sotatsu): The fake Wild Painting Right Half switches the colour of the creature to white (note: the reverse of the Left Half switch); the creature in the real Wild Painting is green.

  

• Wistful Painting (Girl with a Pearl Earring - Johannes Vermeer): In the fake, the shape of the pearl earring is changed to a star. A 'haunted' version of this painting exists – it shows the girl with her eyes closed, also with the star-shaped earring. This change takes place at a certain time.

  

• Worthy Painting (Liberty Leading the People - Eugène Delacroix): There is no fake version of the Worthy Painting, so buy with confidence!

  

Crazy Redd Fake Statues Complete List

Thanks to YouTuber AbdallahSmash026 who assembled the full selection of statues, and the Animal Crossing subreddit where u/Acadiaa reported all the differences, we know the full list of statues featured in New Horizons, including all the fakes. And, yes, THE FAKES ARE DIFFERENT FROM NEW LEAF!

There are 13 statues to collect in Animal Crossing: New Horizons:

• Ancient Statue (Dogū - Unknown): The fake Ancient Statue has a pair of antenna-like 'ears'. A 'haunted' version of this statue exists which, at a certain time, has illuminated eyes and makes it levitate.

  

  

• Beautiful Statue (Venus de Milo - Unknown): The fake Beautiful Statue is wearing a necklace around her collar.

  

• Familiar Statue (The Thinker - Auguste Rodin): There is no fake version of the Familiar Statue, so buy with confidence!

  

• Gallant Statue (David - Michelangelo): The fake Gallant Statue is carrying a book under its right arm.

  

• Great Statue (King Kamehameha I - Thomas R. Gould): There is no fake version of the Great Statue, so buy with confidence!

  

• Informative Statue (Rosetta Stone - Unknown): The fake Informative Statue is blue. Bit of an obvious one, this. A haunted version exists which also glows.

  

  

• Motherly Statue (Captoline Wolf - Unknown): The fake Motherly Statue has the wolf's tongue hanging out.

  

• Mystic Statue (Bust of Nefertiti - Thutmose): The fake Mystic Statue is wearing an earring.

  

• Robust Statue (Discobolus of Myron - Unknown): The fake Robust Statue has a wristwatch on its right wrist.

  

• Rock-head Statue (Olmec Colossal Head - Unknown): The fake Rock-head Statue is smiling.

  

• Tremendous Statue (Houmuwu Ding - Unknown): The fake Tremendous has a lid; the real Tremendous Statue is open and has no lid at all.

  

• Valiant Statue (Nike of Samothrace - Unknown): The fake Valiant Statue is a mirror image of the real one.

  

• Warrior Statue (Terracotta Army - Unknown): The fake Warrior Statue is leaning on a shovel; the real Warrior Statue has nothing.

  

How to spot 'Haunted' Paintings and Statues In Animal Crossing: New Horizons

There are currently three haunted paintings and two haunted statues which are known to exist in a fake, 'haunted' form:

• the Graceful Painting
• the Scary Painting
• the Wistful Painting
• the Ancient Statue
• the Informative Statue.

These haunted artworks will magically change their appearance at a certain time of day (usually in the morning or evening). We'll update this guide if more haunted fakes come to light, and you can find more information on their spooky properties in the list above.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Redd

Who is Crazy Redd?

Redd is a a shady art dealer who shows up to peddle his wares on your island on various days (the schedule appears to be random, as opposed to New Leaf where the rogue trader turned up at the same time once a week).

How do you unlock Redd?

Make sure you have the latest update of the game installed (Redd was added in version 1.2.0 on 23rd April 2020), and then follow the steps below to unlock the expanded museum, find Redd, and get your hands on his priceless artwork.

• Animal Crossing New Horizons: Full Patch Notes And Version History

Note. The following steps take place over several days, so be prepared to wait it out. Assuming you don't engage in any time travel-related shenanigans, that is...

• Visit the museum and talk to Blathers. Assuming you've been donating fish, bug and fossil specimens to the owl in sufficient quantities, he'll be considering adding an art wing to the museum. If you can bring him a work of art to kick things off, that is...
  
• The next day Isabelle will announce sightings of a suspicious character around the island. Find Redd and buy whatever artwork he's selling with the special 'Cousin's Discount'
  

  

• Take the painting to Blathers and donate it to the museum — this will kick off the museum's expansion and the building will close for renovations the following day. Redd's boat (known as Jolly Redd's Treasure Trawler) can be found docked at the secret beach at the back of your island when he's visiting (accessible using a ladder), but you won't be able to board on this first day. You'll have to wait until the museum reopens and then speak to Redd to visit his boat
  
• The next day the museum is closed for renovations and expansion. Go about your normal business while you wait
• The following day Isabelle will announce the museum's reopening and warn you about fake art. Feel free to visit the new art exhibit, although it'll be a bit empty:
  
• Redd should also be visiting again (if you can't find him, double-check his boat is docked at the Northern Shore — although remember, you won't be able to board without finding and speaking to him first). Track him down, confirm you're interested in purchasing his wares, and Redd will vanish. Don't worry, he can be found back on his boat ready to sell you his selection of objet d'art at a handsome discount...
  
  

When does Redd visit your island?

After speaking to him the first time, then donating his first painting and starting the museum expansion, Redd will always visit on the first day the museum reopens. However, Redd doesn't appear on a set schedule for subsequent visits (unlike New Leaf where we would reliably appear once a week).

Dataminer @_Ninji on Twitter looked at the code governing special visitors to your island and surmised that Redd will appear approximately once every two weeks, according to the schedule for special island visitors. Shortly after this discovery, a helpful internet soul created this handy infographic:

So, once Saharah, Kicks and Leif have visited, the two remaining weekday slots will be taken up by two of the five other characters — the ones that don't come get priority the following week. Assuming this data is correct, it's possible that Redd won't visit for a full two weeks, although he'll definitely visit the week after that.

How do you know if Redd is visiting your island? You can head to the northern shore to check if Redd is there, but the easiest way to see if Redd is visiting is to open the map on your NookPhone and see if the Jolly Trawler is docked there.

What does Redd sell on his boat?

Jolly Redd's Treasure Trawler is home to works of art and rare(-ish) furniture. Redd is happy to sell you any amount of furniture (provided you don't ask where it came from), although you're restricted to purchasing one piece of art for every day that he visits.

Players of previous games will know that there's a chance the art he sells you will be a forgery, and the poor lighting on his boat doesn't make spotting fakes easy.

Still, if you know what to look for, it's easy enough to avoid buying fake works of art from Crazy Redd. You'll get Nook Miles the first time you buy a fake, so it's worth buying at least one wrong 'un.

How many real / fake items does Redd sell?

In Animal Crossing: New Leaf only one in four of the items Redd sold was the real McCoy. However, in New Horizons the ratio swings from just one fake to nothing but fakes. Once again, dataminer @_Ninji did some digging and discovered the following percentage chances:

Ninji also discovered that for each genuine item Redd is selling, there's a 20% chance that it's not already part of your museum collection.

Assuming that data is correct, it seems that finding only genuine artworks is impossible. That would be nice, wouldn't it?

How to buy more than one artwork from Redd per day

If you're looking to fill your museum and not miss an opportunity to purchase a genuine piece of art, you might want to consider enlisting the help of other players living on your island. Any player who also lives on your island can purchase an item from Redd (only one, mind, and human players not animal residents). Visitors from other islands can also visit Redd (he'll mail the item to their island), so it's entirely possible to completely clear out Redd's gallery.

HOWEVER! Remember, there's no guarantee that there will be more than one genuine artwork to purchase — and Redd may be selling nothing but fakes.

The ability to buy more than one thing using other residents and visitors is also useful if you accidentally buy a fake and want to return to pick up a real one before Redd leaves your island.

Is there another way to get artwork for the museum?

Island residents can occasionally (and randomly) mail you artworks that you'd normally only be able to get from Redd.

Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that these paintings and sculptures will be genuine. In fact, 'smug' villagers only send fake pieces, so you might consider evicting them from your island paradise — check out our complete list of every villager and their personality type.

So, developing a good rapport with your neighbours is another way to build your art collection.

What can I do with the fake artwork I bought?

Sadly, not much. Displaying it or mailing it to a friend as a joke is about it. Still, the haunted ones are neat and they still look pretty — just don't look too hard.

Thanks to @Trotekko, @kuromizuouji, @Imalune, @ShaniquaClips, @shaw97089312, @taylorpedia and @yoshisislandds for some of the screenshots of fake paintings and statues used in this guide.

This article is part of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons walkthrough, which includes a Complete Fish List, Complete Bug List and Complete Sea Creatures List. If you're looking for specific fish or bug, we can tell you how to catch the elusive Coelacanth, Mahi-Mahi, Giant Trevally, Stringfish, Golden Trout and all the Sharks and Beetles, along with a full list of Critters leaving at the end of the month. We've also compiled a Complete Villager List and a Complete List of K.K. Slider Songs, as well as the Best Custom Design Codes and Islands we've found so far, and the best islands to visit using Dream Address Codes.

We can also help with How to Spot Redd's Fake Paintings and Statues, How to Make Bells Fast, How to Breed Flowers, How to Get more DIY Recipes, How to Upgrade Nook's Cranny, where and when to find special characters like Gulliver, Sable, Label, Wisp, Celeste, Pirate Gulliver and Jack, plus tips on using the Star Wand, Tool Ring, Rock Trick, Cutting Down and Moving Trees, using amiibo on Harv's Island, How to Back Up Your Island Data, How to Time Travel, How to Get a 5-Star Island Rating and a whole lot more.

And finally Where to Buy Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch if for some reason you haven't yet picked up the game.