Art has been used as a mode of expression and individualism since its ‘invent’ many thousands of years ago. It has been used to portray love and hate, beauty and disgust and resonates with in each of us in its own way. As art has become universal, certain artists’ works have become quite valuable. In recent history an original Picasso painting sold for more then $100 million and works from other artistic mavens have been considered priceless. As the price of paintings from certain well known artists’ have increased, forgeries have become so common that it can some times be difficult to discern between the original and the copy. I believe that we have allowed forgeries to become so common that our society may be one day known as the “copycat” generation.
This new insight into forgeries has been ignited by Patricia Cohen and William K. Rashbaum’s article entitled “One Queens Painter Created Forgeries That Sold for Millions, U.S. Says.” The article discusses the shocking tale of an art dealer who misrepresented buyers into paying an estimated $80 million over a 15-year period for art that was allegedly painted by greats like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Sadly these masterworks have been traced back to a single Queens garage where a struggling artist was hired to create imitation pieces. Interestingly enough the artist himself was not included in the indictment perhaps because he wasn’t involved in the sale of the pieces and wasn’t fully aware of what was happening. What makes matters worse is these canvases were sold through a reputable Upper East Side gallery that took in most of the profits. What’s remarkable is how many years had gone by before the forgeries were red flagged. How could it be that the forgery of so many pieces went undetected under the noses of connoisseurs of modern art? How could it be that a man once unappreciated for his art, under different pretenses was selling paintings along side famed artists like Franz Kline and Robert Motherwell? How does a man once in such financial troubles that he was selling his art on the streets under a different façade have his paintings sold for millions of dollars? That begs the question what is art and who defines it? When on the streets his paintings were sold for nearly nothing and in a famous gallery they were reaching prices one could only dream of. Is it the mask and curtains that makes art desirable or is there an intrinsic value?
This article brings to the forefront the idea that forgery is unacceptable and cannot overtake our generation. Greed has clearly made its mark upon the art industry and it must be stopped. Yet the question remains unsolved, what in fact is art and who gives it its value? What makes one piece so much more valuable than another? Is it the art dealer, the art critic or maybe the artist himself?
RASHBAUM, WILLIAM K., and Patricia Cohen. “One Queens Painter Created Forgeries That Sold for Millions, U.S. Says.” The New York Times. N.p., 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.
(Link to the original article is embedded as a hyperlink in the title of the article in the blog post)
