The online auction at virtual gallery for fine artists.

The upcoming online auction of a painting reputed to be a Paul Gauguin is sure to create a stir. Creative Conduit, a small Miami-based company whose mission is to become a virtual gallery for fine artists, plans to hold an online auction later this year, hoping to generate buzz - and eyeballs for their own artists. But according to the Financial Times, not everyone believes the work is genuine. The painting, entitled "Vue du Port de la Martinique," was purportedly painted by Gauguin in 1887, the artist_s pre-Tahitian period. Its current owner, possesses appraisals and a document allegedly signed by artist_s son. However, the Paris-based Wildenstein Institute, a well-known art appraiser, told that they reviewed the work "at least 10 times in the 1990s" and concluded it was not a Gauguin. Alex Steneck, vice president of technology for Creative Conduit, says the painting is indeed real, adding he has "a certificate of authenticity by Maurice Malingue," who at the time of the painting_s purchase "was the world_s foremost expert on Gauguin."