Animal Crossing New Horizons Redd art guide: Real vs fake paintings & statues

Daniel Megarry
Jolly Redd's fake art in Animal Crossing New Horizons (ACNH)

Determining the authenticity of Redd’s artworks in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is crucial to avoid being duped. Our guide will help you distinguish the real art pieces from the fakes in the game.

Beware of the shady dealings in the world of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Jolly Redd is notorious for selling art on his boat, but not all of it is authentic. It’s up to you to identify the real masterpieces.

This traveling merchant will visit the tiny northern beach of your island on random days, offering up four pieces of art for sale. Some are genuine and can be donated to the museum, while others will be fake (and are essentially useless).

Because of Redd’s trickery, it’s really important to double-check every piece of art before you purchase it from him. We’ve put together an ACNH art guide to help you spot the real from the fake and avoid ending up with a useless forgery.


Contents


Isabelle talking about Jolly Redd's fake art in Animal Crossing New Horizons
Isabelle will warn you of a shady art dealer in ACNH… that’s Jolly Redd!

How to spot fake art in Animal Crossing New Horizons

Every piece of art in ACNH is based on a famous painting or statue, so if you know what the genuine work looks like, you should – in theory – be able to spot a fake piece of art.

The differences between real and fake pieces of art are often very small, though, so it’s easy to be fooled. To make matters worse, some pieces of art have multiple fake versions, while some don’t have any.

We’ve listed all of the art you can find in Animal Crossing New Horizons below, including details of how to spot the difference between real and fake pieces.

Animal Crossing New Horizons art guide: Real vs fake paintings

Here are all of the paintings in Animal Crossing New Horizons alongside the differences between real and fake versions (if there are no details, there are no fake versions):

Art Real version Fake version
Academic Painting No coffee stain Coffee stain in the top right corner
Amazing Painting The man at the front has a hat The man at the front has no hat
Basic Painting The subject has less hair The subject has a full fringe
Calm Painting
Common Painting
Detailed Painting The flowers are blue The flowers are red
Dynamic Painting
Famous Painting The woman has no eyebrows The woman has arched eyebrows
Flowery Painting
Glowing Painting
Graceful Painting The woman takes up half the length of the painting The woman takes up the full length of the painting
Jolly Painting A weed sticks out of the bottom right corner There is no weed sticking out of the bottom right corner
Moody Painting
Moving Painting Tall trees on the right-hand side No trees on the right-hand side
Mysterious Painting
Nice Painting
Perfect Painting
Proper Painting
Quaint Painting A tiny stream of water is coming out of the pot A wide stream of water is coming out of the pot
Scary Painting The man’s eyebrows look normal The man’s eyebrows are inverted
Scenic Painting Two people are leading the pack of dogs One person is leading the pack of dogs
Serene Painting The animal is white The animal is white and grey
Sinking Painting
Solemn Painting The man in the doorway is holding the doorframe The man in the doorway is pointing upwards
Twinkling Painting
Warm Painting
Wild Painting Left Half The creature is white The creature is green
Wild Painting Right Half The creature is green The creature is white
Wistful Painting The woman wears a pearl earring The woman wears a star earring
Worthy Painting

Ensure to take extra care when examining the Wild Paintings for a fake, as these, in particular, are quite difficult to distinguish between. Despite the differences being simple, there are two halves and the colors are inverted for each one. Double-check the table above before buying them.

As we mentioned before, some of these paintings have multiple fake versions, but they will always have the differences listed above – and sometimes extra differences that make them even easier to spot.

ACNH art guide: Real vs fake statues

Here are all of the statues in Animal Crossing New Horizons alongside the differences between real and fake versions (if there are no details, there are no fake versions):

Statue Real version Fake version
Ancient The statue has no antennas The statue has two antennas
Beautiful The statue has no necklace The statue has a necklace
Familiar
Gallant The statue is not carrying a book The statue is carrying a book
Great
Informative The stone is black The stone is blue
Motherly The wolf doesn’t have a tongue sticking out of its mouth The wolf has a tongue sticking out of its mouth
Mystic The woman has no earring The woman has a large earring
Robust The man isn’t wearing a watch The man is wearing a watch
Rock-Head The face has a neutral mouth The face has a smiling mouth
Tremendous There is no lid on the container There is a lid on the container
Valiant The woman’s right leg is stepping forwards The woman’s left leg is stepping forwards
Warrior The warrior has no shovel The warrior is holding a shovel

The most difficult fake to spot is probably the Rock-Head statue, as the difference between the real one’s neutral mouth and the fake one’s smiling mouth is very small. Make sure you examine it well.

The Valiant statue is also quite tricky. Make sure you’re thinking from the woman’s perspective when examining which leg is stepping forwards.

Where to find Redd in Animal Crossing New Horizons

Jolly Redd selling fake art in ACNH
You’ll need to find Redd to start buying art.

Before you’re able to get Jolly Redd to appear on your island, you’ll first need to ensure that you’ve completed a few prerequisites:

  • Make 60 donations of fossils, fish, or bugs to the museum then speak to Blathers, who will bring up the prospect of displaying art at the museum.
  • The next day, look for Redd roaming your island. He’ll offer you a painting for 498,000 Bells, but after you decline he’ll reduce the price to 4,980 Bells. Donate this piece of art to the museum, and it will close for renovation.
  • Once the museum reopens, Redd will start visiting your island on random days. You can find his boat at the tiny beach on the north of your island, which will require island terraforming abilities or a classic ladder to reach.

Every time Jolly Redd visits your island, you’ll be able to purchase one painting or statue only, and it will be delivered to you via mail the following day, so make sure you choose wisely – and avoid those fakes.


That’s everything you need to know about determining the authenticity of Redd’s artworks in Animal Crossing New Horizons! Check out some other guides below:

How to get an Axe in Animal Crossing New Horizons | Best games like Animal Crossing to play on Switch Animal Crossing turnips guide | Animal Crossing flower guide | How to get Gold Roses in New Horizons | How to get Gayle in Animal Crossing | ACNH art guide | Best way to plan your island layout | How to get Ruby in Animal Crossing New Horizons | How to get a villager to move out | How to restart your New Horizons island | Stop villagers moving out | Animal Crossing New Horizons Villager gift guide

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