Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, The Celebrated Dealer Nishimura Exposing an Art Forger, 1875, color woodblock print, Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, Photo in the Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Intent to Deceive: Fakes and Forgeries in the Art World, an exhibition about art forgeries, is making its way around the country. It has been to Springfield, MA; Sarasota, FL; and Canton, OH, and will be on view at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City and the Reading Public Museum in Reading, PA in the new near. It is a fascinating exhibition so put it on your calendar.
The exhibition displays original works of art next to the forgeries for a careful comparison. It also has profiles of the world’s most notorious forgers, such as Hans van Meegeren and John Myatt with his co-conspirator/dealer John Drewe, which include personal effects and ephemera and detailed explanations of the materials and techniques they used to create their “masterpieces.”
I’ve written about these audacious individuals for The Art Minute before; here is an opportunity to learn more about these intriguing people and examine their forgeries in person. You may find the works of art to be quite good.
