The story of artist E. M. Washington is a fascinating and complicated tale.  Washington's woodcuts began appearing for sale online in 1998.  Some were sourced to other famous artists, some were attributed to his great-grandfather, "Earl Mack Washington," who purportedly lived from 1862 to 1952, and others were said to come from a collection of woodblocks that the senior E. M. Washington had rescued from a fire-bombed Manhattan print shop in the 1880s.  "[T]o a widening ring of skeptics they are all fakes, created recently by the younger Washington," ran a 2004 report in Forbes.  "Some print-collecting lawyers and various art and book dealers have come to question whether Earl Mack Washington ever existed at all.  The younger Washington hasn't done much to deflect their suspicion.  A former girlfriend has come forward with the allegation that the younger Washington cut and printed woodblocks himself or with the help of apprentices."  Claims have been filed against Washington on behalf of artists including Eric Gill and M. C. Escher, whose images were taken and modified by Washington.  "What does Washington say?  He answers some questions, deflects others.  Relaxing in his office, a book about the counterfeiting of Salvador Dalí prints on his desk, Washington admits, 'I am the artist on some [Washington prints],' adding, 'I cut them and make them available to people at affordable prices.'  He also acknowledges altering some images that he originally claimed as the work of his ancestor, 'just to keep people interested.'  As for those questionable Eric Gill woodcuts, he says he 'only signed about 10 or 15.'  He claims that 'experts' told him the prints were 'real.'"