Stolen and Forged Artwork Essay -- Art Essays

Stolen and Forged Artwork Since the beginning of its existence, prowess collecting has been a rather dangerous endeavor. Artwork fakes and even stolen trick have been documented since the days of ancient Rome. Even then, the Romans often sought-after(a) 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, neo day forgers argon still trying to fool art enthusiasts and atomic number 18 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 kindred techniques are used by the forgers to wanton away 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 Christies in London, into purchase fakes. He has been accused o f buying masterpieces by artists such as Monet, Renoir, and Gaugin, before selling copies. A new-fangled incident in May of 2000 involved the artist Gaugins Vase de Fleurs. The picture was offered for auction at both Christies and Sothebys at the same time. The painting at Christies was deemed a fake and the sale was cancelled, further Sothebys went ahead with the sale, making 169,000 dollars for Sakhai. He currently faces twenty age in jail if convicted, along with a 1.1 million pound comely for twenty-five faked paintings (Black 22). After the boom of sales for Impressionist paintings in the 1980s, an subjoin in demand for fine art is encouraging an industry in fakes. Helped along by art dealers interested only in their person-to-person profit, questionable works are passed along to buyers compl... ... Luckily, museum curators recognize this. Works from exhibitions are constantly being removed and re-evaluated in order to preserve the justice of art history. As long as art is in demand, irrespective 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 principal sum 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 gamey Time (1997). Granger, Doug Art Forgery International Foundation for Art inquiry 03.30.04 Kauffman, Joshua. Putting the Legal Squeeze on Stolen Art Art vocation News 36. Wilson, Claire. Documenting Museum Forgeries Art and antiques (2001) 34.