Look, we’ve all been there. Jolly Redd pulls his shady trawler up to the secret beach at the back of your island, the lights are dim, the music is unsettling, and he’s grinning like he just sold you a bridge in Brooklyn. You’re staring at a masterpiece, trying to remember if that guy in the portrait had a mustache or if the lady’s earring was a pearl or a weirdly shaped star. It’s stressful. Buying a famous painting ACNH real vs fake shouldn’t feel like a high-stakes art history exam, but here we are.
Redd is a crook. Pure and simple. Blathers, our favorite sleep-deprived owl, won't accept anything that isn't the genuine article, so if you blow 4,980 Bells on a forgery, you’re stuck with a piece of haunted decor that you can’t even sell to Tommy and Timmy.
The Stakes of the Art Gallery
Filling the Museum is one of the longest grinds in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It’s not just about the bells. It’s about the pride of seeing those walls filled with humanity's greatest achievements. But Redd doesn't care about your museum's prestige. He wants your money. Some of his fakes are obvious—like a dude wearing a sweatshirt in the 1600s—but others are incredibly subtle. You have to look at the eyebrows, the shadows, and even the direction of a person's gaze.
The game uses real-world art as the basis for these items. We're talking Da Vinci, Vermeer, and Velázquez. Understanding the famous painting ACNH real vs fake differences requires a sharp eye for detail. Sometimes, the fake is actually "haunted," changing its appearance at night, which is cool for a spooky basement but a disaster for your museum completion rate.
Spotting the Fakes in the Famous Painting Category
The Famous Painting is actually Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. This is arguably the most iconic piece of art in the world, and Redd knows it. In the real version, the Mona Lisa has level eyebrows. Well, she famously has almost no eyebrows, but her expression is neutral. In the ACNH fake version, her eyebrows are aggressively cocked upward. She looks annoyed. She looks like she just saw you buying a fake statue from Redd and is judging your life choices.
If you see those "mean girl" eyebrows, walk away.
But it’s not just the Mona Lisa. Let’s talk about the Academic Painting. This is Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. In the real one, there’s no coffee stain in the top right corner. If you see a dark circle that looks like Redd sat his mug down on the parchment, it’s a fake. It’s a small detail, but it’s a dead giveaway.
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The Nuance of the Moving Masterpieces
Some paintings are trickier because they involve movement or specific positioning. Take the Graceful Painting (Hishikawa Moronobu’s Beauty Looking Back). This one is a nightmare. In the real version, the woman occupies about two-thirds of the canvas height and is looking toward the right. The fake version? She’s much larger, taking up almost the entire height of the frame.
There is also a second fake. In the "haunted" version of the Graceful Painting, the woman's head actually turns to follow you as you walk past it in your house. It’s terrifying. If you’re at Redd’s and she’s looking to the left instead of the right, don’t even think about it.
The Paintings That Are Always Real
Believe it or not, Redd isn't lying 100% of the time. There are several paintings in the game that have no fake version. If you see these on the boat, buy them immediately. They are guaranteed to be authentic.
- Calm Painting (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat)
- Common Painting (The Gleaners by Jean-François Millet)
- Flowery Painting (Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh)
- Glowing Painting (The Fighting Temeraire by J.M.W. Turner)
- Moody Painting (The Sower by Jean-François Millet)
- Mysterious Painting (Isle of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin)
- Nice Painting (The Young Flute Player by Édouard Manet)
- Proper Painting (A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by Édouard Manet)
- Sinking Painting (Ophelia by John Everett Millais)
- Twinkling Painting (The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh)
- Warm Painting (The Clothed Maja by Francisco de Goya)
- Worthy Painting (Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix)
If you see the Twinkling Painting, just grab it. Van Gogh's swirls are hard to fake, apparently, because Redd hasn't even tried. Same goes for the Sinking Painting. If Ophelia is drowning in that river, she’s the real deal.
Deep Dives into Tricky Forgeries
Let's get into the weeds. The Serene Painting (Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci) is a classic trap. In the real one, the ermine (the little white weasel-looking thing) is all white. In the fake version, the ermine has a grey/blue ring around its eyes. It looks like the poor animal hasn't slept in a week. Honestly, same. But Blathers won't take a tired ermine.
Then there’s the Wistful Painting (Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer). This is a fan favorite for fakes. In the real version, she’s wearing a pearl earring. Simple enough. In the fake, the earring is a star shape. There is also a haunted version where her eyes close at night. If you’re looking at the painting on Redd’s boat and that earring isn't a round, shiny pearl, leave it for the next sucker.
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The Wild Painting Left and Right
This is where Redd really tries to mess with your head. The Wild Painting is a folding screen divided into two halves: Left and Right. They are separate items in ACNH.
For the Wild Painting Left Wing, the real one features a white creature (Fujin, the Wind God). The fake version changes the color of the creature to green. For the Wild Painting Right Wing, the real creature is green (Raijin, the Thunder God), and the fake version makes him white. It’s a simple color swap, but if you’re rushing, it’s incredibly easy to mix them up.
Why Do People Get It Wrong?
Most players fail the famous painting ACNH real vs fake test because they don't zoom in. When you are on Redd’s boat, you can actually inspect the art. Use the "Take a closer look" prompt. Move the camera around. The lighting on the boat is intentionally terrible—it's flickering and yellow—to hide the imperfections.
Another reason is the "Haunted" factor. Some players actually want the fakes. The Scary Painting (Otani Oniji III as Edobei) is a great example. In the real one, his eyebrows are slanted downward in a classic kabuki glare. In the fake, they slant upward, making him look sad rather than intimidating. At night, the fake version actually smiles. It’s creepy as hell, and some people prefer that for their secret laboratory or basement crypt designs.
Quick Reference for Major Paintings
If you're standing in front of Redd right now, check these specific details:
Detailed Painting: Look at the flowers. In the real one, the flowers on the right are blue. In the fake, they are purple. Also, the real one has a signature/icon in the corner.
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Quaint Painting: Look at the milk. The real one (The Milkmaid) has a very thin stream of milk pouring from the jug. The fake one has a thick, heavy flow of milk. It’s like she’s pouring a milkshake instead of 17th-century dairy.
Basic Painting: This is The Blue Boy. The real one has a solid forehead of hair. The fake one has heavy bangs (fringe) covering his forehead. Redd basically gave the Blue Boy a bad haircut.
Amazing Painting: Check the man in the center. In the real The Night Watch, the man in the hat is standing there normally. In the fake, his hat is missing. It’s a glaring omission once you notice it.
Scenic Painting: Look for the hunters in the snow. The real version has one hunter and several dogs. The fake version is missing some of the dogs and hunters. It feels "empty" compared to the real one.
Handling the Aftermath of a Fake
So, you messed up. You bought a fake Solemn Painting because you didn't notice the man in the doorway was raising his hand a little too high. What now?
- Decorate: Fakes can’t go to the museum, but they look great in your house.
- Trash it: You can’t sell fakes to the Nooks. You have to use a trash can furniture item to dispose of them.
- Gift it: Villagers will sometimes take them, but it’s a bit of a mean move.
- The "Haunted" Collection: Start a gallery of fakes that change at night. The Ancient Statue (with the glowing eyes) and the Wistful Painting (closing eyes) make for a great paranormal room.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Art Run
To ensure you never get scammed again, follow this protocol every time the secret beach is occupied:
- Check the "Always Real" List First: If Redd has one of the 12 guaranteed authentic paintings, buy it. Even if you already have it, you can trade it to friends for pieces you're missing.
- Zoom In: Don't trust the thumbnail. Use the camera tool to look at the specific tells (the milk stream, the eyebrows, the earring shape).
- Consult the Real World: Open a browser and look at the actual masterpiece. Redd’s fakes are almost always a direct alteration of the original's most famous feature.
- Visit Harv’s Island: If you have unlocked the shops at Harv's, Redd has a permanent stall there. This is actually better than his boat because his inventory refreshes every Monday, and if you buy a fake on purpose, he will replace it with a new item the next day. This is a "pro-strat" for cycling through his inventory faster to find those rare statues.
Redd is a fox for a reason—he’s sly. But with the right eye for detail, you can turn his shady business into the foundation of a world-class museum collection.
Next Steps for Your Collection:
Check your museum's art wing right now. If you're missing more than five pieces, head to Harv’s Island and start buying the cheapest item Redd has every single day. This forces his inventory to rotate, giving you a much higher statistical chance of seeing the rare famous painting ACNH real vs fake variants you actually need for your collection. Once you have a genuine piece, mark it off in a tracker app like ACNH.Guide to avoid accidental duplicates.