Animal Crossing: New Horizons Real and Fake Jolly Redd Art Guide

Jolly Redd has the goods for you if you've got the bells, but be warned: not all of his wares are genuine.

Jolly Redd has the goods for you if you’ve got the bells, but be warned: not all of his wares are genuine. Here’s our Animal Crossing: New Horizons real and fake Jolly Redd art guide so you don’t get scammed out of those sweet, sweet Bells. Oh, and furniture, he sells furniture too as pirates are want to do. 

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons Real and Fake Jolly Redd Art Guide

Before making a purchase, you should check out our guide here to make sure your island is even ready for his arrival. If you don’t see him in his secret beach location, that may mean you have a few more steps needed to prep for his return in New Horizons. If you think you’re all caught up and ready to buy, here’s what you need to know! 

When going into Redd’s shop, you’ll see that he has four different art pieces to see on his pirate ship in addition to two pieces of furniture. Before you get too Bell-happy, you can only buy one of the four art pieces seen which means you need to make sure that you are absolutely sold on the piece chosen. If you want that art for your museum, you’re also going to want to make sure that the art isn’t fake because Blathers don’t got NO time for that fake chiz. 

Where do I find Redd? 

If you haven’t met up with him yet, you can find him on the beachline hanging around, assuming you’ve met the island requirements linked in our guide above. If so, speak with him and he will offer you a piece of art (this one is real) for a massive total of $498,000 Bells. Buy it and donate it to Blathers, and you’ll unlock this Pirate visitor from here on out. 

To find him to buy other art, you’ll see his ship docked in the “secret beach” area in the alcove at the very northernmost part of the island. It’s there that you can board his ship and see what he’s got for sale. 

How to tell if the art is real or fake? 

There are times when all four art pieces are fake if following previous games’ patterns so how do you tell if there is a genuine piece of art aboard Redd’s ship? The first thing you need to know is that all of Redd’s pieces are based off of real-world paintings, sculptures, and design. Because of that, it can be really hard sometimes to spot the fake but that’s exactly what we must do if we want to beef up Blather’s museum and our own lovely abodes. 

For those that may be saying “But I played New Leaf, I know how to spot the fake,” trust us – you don’t. Nintendo made it very hard to tell the difference with New Horizons in terms of a few very specific art pieces, upping the ante and the risk involved when buying and spending those Bells. 

For example, if you’re looking at the Terracotta Warrior Statue, the fake will be holding a sword in front of his lap, the real version will have nothing in his hands. The Serene Painting based off of the Lady With An Ermine by Leonardo Da Vinci will have the real painting seen with the woman in the art holding a white Ermine, whereas the fake will have grey and black markings. 

If you see the Warm Painting based off of The Clothed Maja by Francisco de Goya, you don’t have to worry about spotting any telltale signs, this one doesn’t have a fake counterpart as far as we know. The Mortherly Statue that shows a wolf with children suckling her teet will see the fake version with a tongue loftily hanging out of the side of its mouth, whereas the real one has a more stoic facial expression. 

Other painting comparisons include, though this will be updated as more paintings are uncovered: 

Wistful Painting 

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

The fake will have a star-shaped earring instead of the dripping pearl. 

There is another version where the woman’s eyes are closed. 

Graceful Painting 

Beauty Looking Back by Hishikawa Moronabu

The fake won’t have the white tag near the hairline like the original. 

Another version has the woman looking in a different direction. 

Jolly Painting

Summer by Giuseppe Arcimboldo

The fake won’t have a sprout near the chest area. 

Another version is the colors will be more muted. 

Quaint Painting 

The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer 

The fake will see more milk spilled, the amount is noticeable to even a casual viewer.

Academic Painting

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci 

The fake has a coffee ring stain in the far right corner. 

Solemn Painting 

Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez

The fake will have the man’s arm raised at a much higher angle. 

Famous Painting 

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci 

The fake will have Mona Lisa with eyebrows on fleek. 

Scenic Painting 

The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Brugehel

The fake has less dogs and is also missing a hunter. 

Wild Painting Right Half 

Folding Screen of Fujin and Raijin by Tawaraya Sotatsu

The fake has a white animal instead of a green one. 

Scary Painting 

Otani Oniji the 3rd as Yakko Edobei by Toshusai Sharaku

The fake looks much less angry and more on the sorrowful side due to facial construction. 

Moving Painting 

The  Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli 

There will be fewer trees seen on the right. 

Wild Painting Left Half 

Folding Screen of Fujin and Raijin by Tawaraya Sotatsu 

The beast is green, he’s supposed to be white in color. 

Basic Painting

The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough 

The boy will have more hair in the fake and will look more youthful. 

Detailed Painting 

Ajisai Sokeizu by Ito Jakuchu 

The fake won’t have an artist’s signature and will be more in purple tones instead of blue. 

Amazing Painting 

The Night Watch by Rembrandt Van Rijn

The fake has a hatless man.

More artwork will be added, we’ve got a few guides writers helping out with this one as we work to unlock all of the fake and genuine paintings to make your purchases a little easier. Feel free to bookmark this page if needed for future reference while we continue to update. 

What to do with items purchased from Redd? 

Once you’ve purchased your items that you are happy with, you can either turn the genuine pieces into Blathers for more museum upgrades or you can use the furniture, statues, and art pieces to further furnish that delectable island! A word of caution: you can’t sell fake artwork back at the Nook’s Cranny shop either so duds can really only be used as decorations for you or anyone that visits your island. 

And there you have it! Hope you liked our Animal Crossing: New Horizons fake and real art guide before you start shelling out those Bells! If you have any entries that we may have missed, feel free to hit us up over on Twitter @PrimaGames and we’ll keep updating this list accordingly! 

About the Author

Liana Ruppert

With an arguably unhealthy obsession with Dragon Age and Mass Effect, Liana is wildly passionate about all things in the gaming community. From shooters, to RPGs, if it's out - she's playing it. A medically retired US Sailor and now full-time hoarder of gaming collectibles, Liana's passion for everything in the gaming industry is palpable. Also, if you lose her in a crowd, just casually mention any BioWare game and the crazy pterodactyl screech will without a doubt follow. You can follow her on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy or email her for editorial inquiries at [email protected]!