Expat claims framing shop replaced pic with copy

A Canadian woman has accused a picture framing shop in Sanlitun, Chaoyang district, of replacing a valuable artwork she took to be framed with a high quality, but worthless copy.

The store owner has denied the accusation.

Penelope Colville, told the Global Times via e-mail Thursday that she had discovered that a lithograph, part of a series called "New Moon" which she took to J.M. Picture & Framing in Sanlitun for framing in autumn 2010, was replaced with a copy.

The original print was by Alex Colville, an iconic Canadian artist. Colville estimated the value around CAD $8,000 ($7,819).

Colville inherited the picture from her late husband.

The print "New Moon" was the third in a series of 27.

"I did not open the framed print until I was returning to Canada for a break and decided to take back a lot of personal stuff I had accumulated," said Colville.

Colville went to Sanlitun police station but officers were unable to act as she does not have a receipt.

"One of the reasons this fraud racket is so successful is that people rarely have the receipt after several years," she said, adding she confronted the manager, who was sarcastic and denied the substitution.

The owner of J.M. Picture, surnamed Liu, said that she had never met Colville, and denied framing the picture.

Liu said that she was taken to Sanlitun police station for questioning on February 15.

"We were told the picture was framed three years ago. I didn't know about it. If that woman says so, she needs to provide proof," said Liu.

"We won't deny it if she provides either a frame or a receipt. But even if she provides this, it's hard to say what's happened over the three years," she said.

"I plan to sue Colville for harming our," Liu said.