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With that in mind, fine art appraiser Brenda Simonson-Mohle, ISA CAPP wrote an article entitled Art Forgery: A Cautionary Tale. Brenda gives some very interesting background on forgeries, and honest copies, and mentions some of the more interesting forgeirs that have been in the news or discussed in recent book publications.
Brenda writes
The teaching method at traditional art academies, at least until the second half of the 20th C., was heavily based on requiring students to learn the drawing, sculpting and painting methods of preceding generations. Copying directly from a well known piece was encouraged as a way to perfect the artist’s skills. Museums routinely allowed art students to sit in front of masterful works and produce copies. These “honest copies” were not intended as forgeries. Normally, if they were signed at all, the inscription would clearly point to the fact that the piece was a copy after the given artist. Plus, even if the art student was taught to grind and mix his own paints in the manner of the master, there was usually no attempt to match the panel or canvas and stretcher style of the master. Of course, these copies have made their way onto the art market over the years. But, even after time has aged the copies somewhat, the anomalies between the known artist’s works and those copied from them are readily apparent to those who routinely handle works of the master artist’s period. Well-honed connoisseurship skills are essential to anyone in the business of valuing or selling artwork.
But what of those pieces that were actually created in order to dece-ive? How does the forger get away with his deception? How is he eventually caught? How can those in the business protect themselves from being duped by a fraudulent piece or an entire fraudulent collection? A look at the modern-day history of known forgers, their motivations, their working methodology and the reasons they got caught can be instructive.
One might think it odd to consider the forger’s motivation and might assume that the vast sums of money he might make would be the main motivating factor. Surely, ill gotten financial gains are one factor that turns a talented painter toward forgery. But it is usually not the main factor. When interviewed after their ouster, most forgers have railed against the disrespect their own original work had been subjected to by critics and the collecting public. Others have become embittered by what they see as a system that is set up to enrich art professionals, historians, critics, dealers and collectors while exploiting individual artists.
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