You’re walking along the secret beach at the back of your island, the one usually occupied by nothing but weeds and the occasional sea shell, when you see it. A dark, rusted trawler with a single dim light flickering on the deck. It’s Jolly Redd. Most players feel a mix of excitement and immediate anxiety when that boat shows up. Why? Because Redd is a professional grifter, and his entire business model relies on you not knowing the difference between a 17th-century masterpiece and a cheap knockoff he probably painted in the back of that boat ten minutes ago. Animal crossing redd art isn't just about filling your museum; it’s a high-stakes game of "spot the difference" where the penalty is a few thousand bells and a very disappointed Blathers.
Redd's Treasure Trawler is the only way to complete the art wing of your Museum in New Horizons, but the guy is shifty. He sells four pieces of art at a time, and sometimes, honestly, every single one of them is a fake. Other times, you get lucky and find a genuine piece, or even two. But if you don't know what you're looking for, you're basically throwing money into the ocean. It’s annoying.
The Problem With Blathers
Blathers is a stickler. If you bring him a fake "Academic Painting" (the Vitruvian Man), he won't just refuse it; he’ll give you a lecture on how it's a "foul forgery" and leave you stuck with a piece of junk that you can’t even sell at Nook’s Cranny. The Nooklings won't touch forged art. They have "standards," apparently. This leaves you with two options: display the fake in your house like a monument to your own gullibility, or find a trash can and literally throw it away.
Why Animal Crossing Redd Art is Actually Harder Than You Think
The developers at Nintendo didn't make these fakes obvious. They didn't just put a mustache on the Mona Lisa—though that would have been funny. Instead, they changed minute details that require a real-world knowledge of art history or a very high-resolution screen.
Take the Scary Painting, for example. It’s based on Otani Oniji III as Edobei by Toshusai Sharaku. In the real painting, the actor's eyebrows are slanted downwards in a look of intense, stylized anger. In the Redd forgery, the eyebrows are slanted upwards, making the character look more surprised or worried than scary. It’s a tiny flip. If you're playing on a handheld Switch Lite, good luck seeing that without zooming in until your eyes hurt.
Then there are the "haunted" fakes. These are the weird ones. Some forgeries in the game actually change depending on the time of day. The Wistful Painting (Girl with a Pearl Earring) is a classic example. In the fake version, the girl's eyes are closed at night. If you buy it during the day, you might not notice that her earring is a star shape instead of a pearl, but then at 7 PM, she blinks. It's creepy. It’s cool for a haunted house build, but Blathers still won't take it.
The Statues are a Different Beast
Statues are even trickier because they take up more space and usually cost the same amount of bells, but the tells are often structural. The Valiant Statue (Nike of Samothrace) is a fan favorite for island decorating. In the real version, her right leg is stepping forward. In the fake, it’s the left leg.
Actually, let's talk about the Ancient Statue. This is the one that looks like a little clay figure with "goggles." It’s based on a Shakoki-dogu figurine from the Jomon period of Japan. The fake version has antennas. Yes, antennas. And at night? The eyes glow blue and it starts floating if you interact with it. Is it a fake? Technically. Is it cooler than the real one? Probably. But again, if you’re trying to finish that Museum collection, you need the boring one that stays on the ground.
How to Guarantee a Genuine Purchase
You can’t just wing it. Well, you can, but you’ll end up with a basement full of garbage.
First, use the camera. When you’re inside Redd’s boat, use the "Take a Look" option to zoom in close. You need to compare what you see on the screen to the real-world inspiration. Since Animal Crossing: New Horizons uses real-world art, you can literally Google the painting name. Look at the Famous Painting. That’s the Mona Lisa. In the fake, her eyebrows are tilted up in a way that makes her look sarcastic. In the real one, she famously has almost no eyebrows at all.
The "Always Real" List
Surprisingly, there are some pieces of animal crossing redd art that are never fake. Redd is a scammer, but he’s not a god; there are some things he hasn't figured out how to forge yet. If you see these, buy them immediately:
- Calm Painting (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte)
- Common Painting (The Gleaners)
- Flowery Painting (Sunflowers)
- Glowing Painting (The Fighting Temeraire)
- Moody Painting (The Sower)
- Mysterious Painting (Isle of the Dead)
- Nice Painting (The Young Flautist)
- Proper Painting (A Bar at the Folies-Bergère)
- Sinking Painting (Ophelia)
- Twinkling Painting (The Starry Night)
- Warm Painting (The Clothed Maja)
- Worthy Painting (Liberty Leading the People)
If any of these pop up on the boat, you're safe. No checking required. Just hand over the 4,980 bells and go about your day.
The Secret to Farming Redd
Waiting for Redd to show up naturally is a nightmare. He’s supposed to appear more frequently since the 2.0 update, but "frequently" in Animal Crossing terms still means you might go two weeks without seeing his sketchy boat.
The best way to get your art collection finished is to unlock his stall on Harv’s Island. You’ll need to cough up 100,000 bells to the Lloid at the plaza to get him set up. Once he’s there, he has two pieces of art for sale every day. Here’s the trick: if you buy a piece, he replaces it the next day. If you don't buy anything, his inventory only refreshes on Mondays.
So, even if both pieces he’s showing are fakes, buy one anyway.
Think of it as a 5,000 bell "refresh fee." You buy the fake, throw it in the trash the next morning, and Redd will have something new in that slot. This is much faster than waiting for him to dock at your island. Plus, if you have multiple player profiles on your Switch, each player can buy one piece of art per day. You can effectively clear his entire inventory every single day if you’re dedicated enough.
Spotting the Tricky Statues
Statues are high-value for island ratings. The Beautiful Statue (Venus de Milo) is a common trap. In the fake version, she's wearing a necklace. It’s a thick, cord-like necklace that looks completely out of place on a marble statue, yet people miss it all the time because they’re just looking at the overall shape.
The Gallant Statue (David by Michelangelo) is another one. Look at his hand. In the fake, he’s holding a book. Why would David be holding a book? He wouldn't. He’s holding a sling. If you see a book, walk away.
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Dealing With the "No Genuine Art" Scenario
Sometimes Redd is just a jerk. You walk onto the boat, check all four slots, and they’re all fakes. It happens more often than you’d think. Don't feel obligated to buy. However, if you're trying to get the "Nook Miles" achievement for being scammed, go ahead and buy one.
There’s also the "Fake Art" aesthetic. A lot of players actually prefer the fakes for decoration. The Fake Informative Statue (Rosetta Stone) is bright blue. It looks like it’s made of neon or glowing alien tech. It looks amazing in a sci-fi themed area or a laboratory build. The real one is just a dark, dusty slab of rock. If you aren't trying to impress Blathers, the fakes are often more "fun" as furniture items.
Don't Forget the Nook Shopping App
Once you've bought enough from Redd, or just progressed far enough in the game, keep an eye on your "Special Goods" in the Nook Shopping app (either at the kiosk or on your phone). Occasionally, seasonal items or even art-adjacent items show up there, though the primary art source remains the fox himself.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Visit
Next time you see that smoke rising from the back of your island, don't panic. Follow this checklist:
- Zoom in. Use the X button to get a close-up of the art.
- Check the "Never Fake" list. If it’s a Starry Night or Sunflowers, just buy it.
- Search the real-world counterpart. If it’s a statue, look specifically at the hands or whatever the figure is holding.
- Look for "Haunted" traits. If it’s evening, see if the painting blinks or the statue glows. If it does, it’s a fake—but maybe one you want anyway.
- Buy the trash if needed. If you’re on Harv’s Island, buy a fake just to force the inventory to cycle for tomorrow.
Completing the art gallery is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes months, sometimes years if you don't time travel. But honestly, there’s no better feeling in the game than finally seeing that "Gallant Statue" on the pedestal in the museum and knowing you didn't let that cousin of yours pull a fast one on you. Get your bells ready, keep your eyes sharp, and stop letting Redd treat your island like a dumping ground for his art school failures.