Terra Zavala, provided Martens with a signed statement that she had witnessed Washington creating some of the woodcuts, and that Earl Marshawn Washington had admitted to her not knowing even the name of his great-grandfather. By 2004, Washington admitted to creating some of the images, but insisted that he had not invented Earl Mack Washington. Some of Washington's more recent listings on eBay, however, declare African American Artist Earl M. Washington gained worldwide recognition as a wood engraver by faking his death and creating over 1700 wood engravings and offering them to the art buying public at extremely affordable prices. Virtually all of the images appear to be copies of the work of other artists, available from books or other reprints, traced onto blocks. Some images have no significant modifications; in other cases the modifications result in absurdities, such as incongruous reflections and German words turned into nonsense. Many of Washington's M.C. Escher forgeries are strikingly similar to the originals but are the wrong size. These include the works Lute, Man with Cuboid, Six Birds, Thirteen Flying Fish, Letter H, Letter A, Spherical Self Portrait, Retreat, Candle, Frog, Dice, Scales, Anvil, Watering Can, Devil Vignette, and Fish and Frogs. References Further resources Washington Unmasked (as preserved at the Internet Archive) “‘Original woodblock’ prints by E.M. Washington: an art scam” from the Philadelphia Print Shop The Amity Art Foundation on the cancellation of an exhibit, at the Mid America Council Conference in October 2004, of prints by Earl M. Washington 1962 births Living people Art forgers American publishers (people) American printmakers African-American printmakers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people