Cat-and-mouse world of art fraud showcased in show
London – Some of the most notorious art forgeries form the centrepiece of a new London show, which reveals a cat-and-mouse world of intrigue, deception and painstaking detective work.
The exhibition at the Courtauld in Somerset House features about 25 drawings and seven paintings, as well as sculptures and decorative art from the gallery’s collection.
Armed with magnifying glasses, visitors can scrutinise purported masterpieces by Sandro Botticelli, John Constable and Auguste Rodin. They will learn how these “masterpieces” were created, the methods of the most infamous forgers and the increasingly sophisticated methods used to detect them.
“Forgeries have always existed in the history of art and have a place in our study,” said Rachel Hapoienu, drawings cataloguer at the gallery.
She highlighted one work thought to be by English artist Constable which came from a sale from his daughter Isabel.
“We thought we had a straight line back to the artist,” said Hapoienu, but a shock discovery proved them wrong.
Shining a torch through the work revealed a watermark on the paper that dated it to the 1840s, after Constable had died.
“There is a sizeable group of paintings and drawings that came from John Constable’s children and grandchildren which were ... probably made by one of his sons,” said Hapoienu.
“Whether they were trying to perpetrate fraud ... is up or debate.”
The show also highlights the infamous tale of British forger Eric Hebborn, who operated from 1950s until he was exposed in the 1970s.
He struck up a close relationship with dealers and earned their trust by supplying them with genuine works, but mixed in his own forgeries.
“He was really meticulous [but] made a mistake when he had one piece of paper cut in half; one side he did a drawing by one artist, on the other side he did a drawing by an artist who lived a 100 years later,” she added.
“Both sheets ended up in the same collection...”
Hebborn, who was never convicted of a crime, claimed to have produced thousands of forgeries, and was murdered in 1996.
Karen Serres, curator of paintings at the gallery, revealed some of the tricks of the trade.
For instance, Van Meegeren used bakelite to give his paintings an aged appearance, while another fraudster used a fine brush to paint “cracks” onto his works.
But Serres also highlighted tools used by investigators.
One fake was identified by bushes drawn outside a castle, which researchers realised weren’t planted until after the work was purportedly created.
Alongside old-school detective work, the gallery also uses technology, such as a machine that performs ultraviolet and infrared scans of works.
“It’s satisfying, you have found out the truth,” Hapoienu said of the moment when a case is cracked. –