Making the Masters Affordable: Copy That?

For most of us, original Van Goghs are a tad pricey. The Dutch artist’s “Portrait of the Artist Without His Beard” sold at auction for more than $71 million last year.

Now, thanks to the miracle of modern forging techniques, you can still bring home a pretty darned good copy of one of the world’s greatest paintings at an affordable price. The Carlyle Collection, whose works are on display in San Diego and New York, offers many famous pieces at greatly reduced prices. The cost? Just $268 to $798.

The technique is simple. It starts with lithographs of the original works at the 15,000-square-foot studio on Top Gun Street in San Diego. Then artists heat-transfer them onto fine canvas, and apply brush strokes to give texture and richness. Frames are solid wood with gold leaf.

Among its scores of great copies of great works, the Carlyle Collection includes “Yellow Haystacks” by Paul Gauguin, “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli and “Dancers in Blue” by Edgar Degas.

For more information, call (877) 4-CARLYLE or visit https://www.carlylecollection.com.