Introduction

In Animal Crossing, a new town has a museum with four sections that are all devoid of exhibits, and only the player can fill them up. One of the sections is for artwork, and this can be filled by donating sculptures and paintings that you acquire from your villagers or from a traveling merchant named Crazy Redd.

Acquiring artwork from villagers is a game of chance. Sometimes villagers will approach you, saying that they have bought a piece of art that they know nothing about. They will then inquire whether you'd like to buy it from them. The asking price will be either really high or quite low, and you won't be allowed to see the art piece prior to the purchase. If you are really lucky, after accepting the offer to buy the artwork, the villager may change their mind about charging you and offer it to you for free!

Alternatively, you can purchase artwork from Crazy Redd. As frequently as once a week, he will set up his tent in the town plaza where he will exhibit four artwork pieces at a time. You may purchase one piece of art per player each time he arrives in your town. That means if you have four players then you can buy him out. If you don't have enough players to buy all the pieces you want, you can ask a friend to visit and buy one for you. Just be sure that they haven't already purchased from Redd elsewhere that day. This is because each player is allowed to purchase only one piece of art from Redd on any given day, regardless of which town the purchase was made. Crazy Redd usually charges 3,920 Bells for an artwork piece, but this can be slight less if you have good Feng Shui in your home.

Irrespective of whether you obtain art pieces from a villager or from Crazy Redd, your museum has high standards and accepts only genuine pieces. Unfortunately, Crazy Redd is known to sell counterfeits, and your villagers just aren't knowledgeable enough to know whether they've sold you a forgery or not.

Since you cannot see the artwork before buying from a villager, it is best to avoid such purchases if your only aim is to fill the artwork section of the museum. If you don't mind taking the chance, then purchasing from a villager can lead to bargains. After acquiring the piece, if you don't fancy traipsing all the way to your museum you can instead take it to Reese at Re-Tail. If Reese offers to buy the piece from you then you can be assured that it's genuine. Some players actively try to acquire all of the forged pieces too because they like to have a complete catalog of every item in the game. This includes having the full set of forged artwork pieces. Since the forged pieces are themselves quite aesthetically pleasing, they also make great decorations for your home and can be gifted to other villagers in letters.

If you don't mind buying forgeries, there is nothing much to do when purchasing from Crazy Redd. The only thing you may want to be aware of is whether you already have the pieces he happens to be selling. However, if you are interested in acquiring only the genuine articles, then pay attention to the tables below. You cannot conclude from Redd's behavior, or from what he says, whether an art piece is genuine or not. However, by carefully inspecting the contents of his tent and comparing it to the tables below, you can see the subtle difference between the counterfeit and genuine versions. Be sure to change the camera viewpoint on your console, and zoom in to inspect the art from all directions before buying. There's always at least one genuine art work in Redd's tent, but there may be more than one. Two genuine pieces is quite common and three has been encountered as well.

By using this guide, you can ensure Crazy Redd won't be able to trick you into purchasing anything you don't wish to buy.

Paintings

Name	Comparison	Difference	Based on
Amazing painting		The man in white is on the left in the forgery.	The Night Watch by Rembrandt 1642
Basic painting		The man has both hands on his hips in the forgery.	The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough approx 1770
Calm painting		None (always genuine)	A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by George Seurat 1886
Common painting		None (always genuine)	The Gleaners by Jean-Francois Millet 1857
Dynamic painting		The mountain is almost as big as the wave in the forgery.	36 Views of Mt. Fuji by Hokusai 1833
Famous painting		The left hand is on top in the forgery.	Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci 1517
Fine painting		None (always genuine)	Joyousness by Paul Gauguin 1893
Flowery painting		None (always genuine)	Vase With Fifteen Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh 1888
Good painting		The leaf has a bite taken out of it in the forgery.	Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio approx 1599
Graceful painting		The woman is looking to the left in the forgery.	Beauty Looking Back by Hishikawa Moronobu 17th century
Jolly painting		The nose is a carrot in the forgery.	Summer by Guiseppe Arcimboldo 1573
Moody painting		None (always genuine)	The Sower by Jean-Francois Millet 1850
Moving painting		The shell appears to be closed, with the straight edge on the top and the curved edge on the bottom, in the forgery.	The Birth of Venus by Botticelli approx 1486
Nice painting		None (always genuine)	The Fifer by Manet 1866
Perfect painting		None (always genuine)	Apples and Oranges by Paul Cezanne approx 1899
Proper painting		None (always genuine)	A Bar at the Foiles-Bergère by Manet 1882
Quaint painting		The woman is not wearing a white bonnet in the forgery.	The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer 1658
Scary painting		Only the index fingers are pointing out in the forgery.	Otani Onigi III by Toshushai Sharaku 1794
Scenic painting		None (always genuine)	The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel 1565
Serene painting		The woman is holding a cat in the forgery.	Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci 1490
Solemn painting		The girl in the middle is much taller in the forgery.	Las Meninas by Diego Velasquez 1656
Warm painting		None (always genuine)	La Maja Vestida by Francisco de Goya approx 1805
Wild painting		The white god is on the right and black god is on the left in the forgery.	Wind God and Thunder God by Tawaraya Sotatsu 17th century
Wistful painting		The headscarf is orange in the forgery.	Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer approx 1665
Worthy painting		None (always genuine)	Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix 1830

Statues

Name	Comparison	Difference	Based on
Ancient statue		The eyes are "open" in the forgery.	Dogu by unknown artist approx 400 BCE
Beautiful statue		The woman has long hair in the forgery.	Venus de Milo by Alexandros of Antioch approx 100 BCE
Gallant statue		There is a cloth over the right shoulder in the forgery.	David by Michaelangelo 1504
Great statue		The palm is facing down in the forgery.	Kamehameha I by Thomas Ridgeway Gould 1883
Motherly statue		There is only one child in the forgery.	Capitoline Wolf by unknown artist approx 480 BCE
Mystic statue		The hat has a rounded top in the forgery.	Nefertiti Bust by Thutmose 1345 BCE
Robust statue		The man is holding a UFO in the forgery.	Discobolus by Myron approx 450 BCE
Valiant statue		The wings are bat-like in the forgery.	Winged Victory of Samothrace by unknown artist approx 190 BCE