Fakes and forgeries—the bane of curators everywhere
A recent article in the New York Times told the fascinating story of one Mark Landis, a painter and gallery owner, who is also a talented forger of paintings. The twist to Landis’ story is that he apparently isn’t trying to benefit financially from pulling the wool over museum experts’ eyes. Rather, he seems to get his kicks from simply seeing his works placed on display as the real thing. Some museums have accepted his donations without suspicion; others have spent time and money on research to authenticate the works, only to find that they have been hoodwinked.
A current exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts, “Fakes, Forgeries, and Mysteries” chronicles the museum’s acquisition of 50 inauthentic or questionable objects, dating back to a supposedly Sumerian statuette, and including a granite head of an Egyptian king which turned out to be the work of a carver in Berlin, made in about 1920. Visitors to that exhibition will have the opportunity to give their own opinions on whether a certain painting is really by Van Gogh—or not.
Last year, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London held an exhibition featuring the investigation of fakes and forgeries by the Metropolitan Police, which has a special division devoted to this pursuit. One of their prize discoveries was Shaun Greenhalgh who, with the help of his aged parents, managed to sell forged works to a number of major museums. He was convicted and is serving time in prison for his exploits. But Mark Landis, the alleged forger who likes to donate his creations to museums, may not have committed any crime. Whether or not, he has apparently dropped out of sight—until next time!
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