Stolen and Forged Artwork

Stolen and Forged Artwork Since the beginning of its existence, art collecting has been a rather dangerous endeavor. Artwork fakes and even stolen art have been documented since the days of ancient Rome. Even then, the Romans often sought classical Greek artwork and sculptures, and more often than not, works purchased were by Roman artists trying to imitate classic Greek works (Kaufman 36). Today, modern day forgers are still trying to fool art enthusiasts and are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their methods.

Acting as a double edged sword, advances in science allow for easier detection of a forged work; however, the same techniques are used by the forgers to make their works more authentic looking. Recently, art forger Ely Sakhai was charged by American authorities for a multi million dollar scam in which he fooled collectors and auctions houses, including Christie’s in London, into buying fakes. He has been accused of buying masterpieces by artists such as Monet, Renoir, and Gaugin, before selling copies. A recent incident in May of 2000 involved the artist Gaugin’s Vase de Fleurs. The painting was offered for auction at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s at the same time.

The painting at Christie’s was deemed a fake and the sale was cancelled, but Sotheby’s went ahead with the sale, making 169,000 dollars for Sakhai. He currently faces twenty years in jail if convicted, along with a 1.1 million pound fine for twenty-five faked paintings (Black 22). After the boom of sales for Impressionist paintings in the 1980s, an increase in demand for fine art is encouraging an industry in fakes. Helped along by art dealers interested only in their personal profit, questionable works are passed along to buyers compl...

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... Luckily, museum curators recognize this. Works from exhibitions are constantly being removed and re-evaluated in order to preserve the integrity of art history. As long as art is in demand, regardless of the efforts of art historians and scientists alike, the forgery industry continues to expand. Before long, the question will no longer be, “is it fake?” but rather, “is it real?”

Works Cited Black, Edward. “Art Dealer who Forged Ahead with Scam.” The Scotsman 62 (2004): 22-23. Conklin, John E. Art Crime. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 1994. Dam, Julie K.L. “The Faking Game” Time (1997). Granger, Doug “Art Forgery” International Foundation for Art Research 03.30.04 Kauffman, Joshua. “Putting the Legal Squeeze on Stolen Art” Art Business News 36. Wilson, Claire. “Documenting Museum Forgeries” Art and antiques (2001): 34.