Wild Story of A Forger who Donates his Forgeries

 Randy Kennedy has a super article (following an earlier report in the Art Newspaper) discussing a man named Mark Landis who forges works of art and donates the forgeries to art museums all over America. He may have been doing this for as many as twenty years.

His real name is Mark A. Landis, and he is a lifelong painter and former gallery owner. But when he paid a visit to the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette, La., last September, he seemed more like a character sprung from a Southern Gothic novel.

He arrived in a big red Cadillac and introduced himself as Father Arthur Scott. Mark Tullos Jr., the museum’s director, remembers that he was dressed “in black slacks, a black jacket, a black shirt with the clerical collar and he was wearing a Jesuit pin on his lapel.” Partly because he was a man of the cloth and partly because he was bearing a generous gift — a small painting by the American Impressionist Charles Courtney Curran, which he said he wanted to donate in memory of his mother, a Lafayette native — it was difficult not to take him at his word, Mr. Tullos said.

That is a pretty remarkable thing to do, even in the art trade. The lesson is clear though, we can certainly blame the forger/donor, but provenance and the history of an object must be checked, even when an object is donated. 

1. Randy Kennedy, Elusive Forger, Giving but Never Stealing, N.Y. Times (Jan. 12, 2011).
2. Helen Stoilas, "Jesuit priest" donates fraudulent works, The Art Newspaper (Nov. 2010).

The Central Park Obelisk

The Obelisk in Central Park 

On January 4th, Zahi Hawass posted on his blog parts of a letter he sent to New York City May Bloomberg which was erected in Central Park in 1880. Hawass was not criticizing the installation of the monument, or the way in which Frederick Olmstead installed it in his grand park. Rather Hawass voiced some concerns about weathering being done to the hieroglyphic text on the needle. News of the fact that New York is not caring for an ancient Egyptian obelisk soon spread. David Gill argued "Noth Americans" who are critical of the situation at Pompeii should be "chastened". But I'm  not at all sure that weathering is actually taking place, and I do not see how Zahi Hawass can make that claim either: he has made his allegations on the basis of some photographs which he was sent.

This is certainly outside my area of expertise, so I'd appreciate any corrections in the comments below. But it seems to me like Hawass is making some unfounded allegations. He is claiming that the air pollution, rain, snow and wind in New York are wearing down the obelisk. And from this image, some kind of weathering certainly seems to have happened. But why is the face to the right of the photographer still in very good condition? Moreover, in the comments on his blog, Hawass does not make any specific claims, or provide any possible remedies. He only makes a loud claim, that New York and Central Park are not caring for this object. How do we know the obelisk did not look like this before it was removed to New York?

It seems to me that Hawass is instead trying to argue that wealthier nations are not caring for antiquities, and arguing that he and Egypt will. He says that "If the Central Park Conservancy and the City of New York cannot properly care for this obelisk, I will take the necessary steps to bring this precious artifact home and save it from ruin."

No one can fault Hawass for his passion, but here I think his criticism of the care for this obelisk is misguided. Is there something toxic about New York that is prematurely weathering this obelisk? What about the similar obelisks in London and Paris? 

Weber on Liability for Faked or Wrongly Attributed Works of Art in the U.S.

Marc Weber, an attorney in Zurich, has passed along his recent book section on certain aspects of U.S. law dealing with fake or wrongly attributed art works. It appears in a volume honoring Kurt Siehr on his 75th birthday, which appears to be worth seeking out as well, with contributions in both English and German. Marc has made the piece available at his website, and I've reproduced the introduction below:

A work of art isn’t always what it seems to be. Sometimes the buyer learns that he has just purchased a forgery and sometimes the seller realizes that he has just sold an original. As with other contract dispute, the dissatisfied party will seek redress in the courts, but the courts are faced with problems that are specific to dispute arising from the sale of art when it comes to fakes, the provenance and authenticity of works of art.

If the sold piece of art is a forgery, the buyer sues for the repayment of the purchase price in exchange for the return of the work of art. The buyer will seek to do the same after having bought a work of art which is not executed by the artist but by his school. The seller attempts to sue the buyer for the return of the work of art in exchange for the restitution of the purchase price, should a work of art sold as a real copy turn out to be the work of the master or a painting from a school is actually a work of the master himself. The legal remedies of the first case (warranty) differ from the ones of the second case (mistake).

In addition to the remedy of rescission of the contract, under certain circumstances, a cause of action for product disparagement may arise. Finally, if artists’ authentication boards or committees are considered as the only authority to authenticate certain pieces of art, breaches of antitrust laws could be claimed.

It is a concise and very lively summary of the relevant legal rules, with helpful summaries of many of the major cases. It is also a suitable tribute to Prof. Siehr, who I have not had the pleasure of meeting, but who has some outstanding scholarly writings which are well-written, scholarly, and sometimes even funny.

My Review of "Metal Detecting and Archaeology" in the AJA Online

My review of "Metal Detecting and Archaeology", edited by Suzie Thomas and Peter G. Stone (2008) is available online at the American Journal of Archaeology. As I wrote in my review, the collection of essays offers new insights into the tension between parts of the public and archaeologists. It's a collection which has much to offer any thoughtful discussion of the clashes between metal detecting and archaeological study. There are comparative examples of positive contributions metal detectorists can bring to scientific study, and also a frank discussion of the harm done and laws which are broken.

Alternative Dispute Resolution and Art-Law

Anne Laure Bandle and Sarah Theurich have an article in Vol 6, No 1 of the Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology titled "Alternative Dispute Resolution and Art-Law - A New Research Project of the Geneva Art-Law Centre".

This article introduces the new research project of the Geneva Art-Law Centre, which aims to study alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods for art-related disputes. It gives a brief introduction on the topic of the research the project - the significant potential of ADR mechanisms in art law - and provides an overview of the growing international consideration for ADR in art-law matters. While types of art-related disputes vary considerably from case to case, certain common features may be identified to explain the need for adapted dispute resolution in this area. The Art-Law Centre’s research project will involve the creation of an Art-Law ADR Database recording art-related disputes worldwide that were resolved by means of ADR methods, as well as a thorough case analysis. To illustrate the nature of the research project, this paper specifies the different project stages and gives examples of collected art-law cases.

An interesting approach and a project with a great deal of potential. Well worth a read.

Footnotes

A bas-relief in Babylon (via NYT)

• Finally, work has begun to help preserve and restore Babylon after so much neglect.
• Bernard Frischer in an Op-Ed for the New York Times argues more museums should sponsor more archaeological excavations.
• Two works by Polish artist Julian Falat, looted by the Nazis from Poland were located in New York in 2006 and were formally seized and slated for to Poland in December after an investigation by ICE.
• "[N]o one had done anything to secure these ancient excavations since they were excavated" said Claudio D'Alession, mayor of Pompeii, discussing the ancient site in Newsweek.
• A valuable porcelain object known as the "Nereid Sweetmeat Stand", taken from a  Dresden Museum some time during World War II will be returned to a German family.
• Art and a war criminal on the run.
• More on Art Title Insurance.
• Chris Marinello of the Art Loss Register tells CNN art theft is a crime of opportunity.
• Interested in buying shares of a work of art?

Stewarding the Watts Towers

I remember driving through LA for the first time five years ago, seeing these towers from the distance, and wondering what kind of crazy accident created those. I only learned later they were the work of one man, building on his own. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is nearing an agreement to oversee the restoration and preservation of the Watts Towers:

Director of Lacma's conservation department, Mark Gilberg, aims to take a more holistic approach to conservation efforts, which up until now have been short-term. “We are rethinking procedures and adopting ones that will be more proactive than reactive,” says Gilberg. Initial delays regarding insurance concerns have been resolved with the promise that Lacma will not be financially responsible for any gross negligence while working on the towers.

The decision to recruit the museum comes amidst a major budget shakedown across the state, which has resulted in slashed funding to nearly every sector. The state-owned Watts Towers “are in a situation where they are fighting a battle all the time,” explains Lacma spokeswoman, Barbara Pflaumer. Last year, before Los Angeles's municipal budget was cut, the offer for Lacma's conservation expertise was $300,000. Olga Garay, the head of the city's department of cultural affairs, has reportedly put the total restoration costs at $5m.

 I've probably linked to it before, but after the jump you can see a 1957 documentary showing Simon Rodia at work:

1. Marisa Mazria Katz, Lacma nears deal on Watts Towers project The Art Newspaper, http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Lacma+nears+deal+on+Watts+Towers+project/22146 (last visited Jan 4, 2011).