Art and Artifice: Fakes from the Collection

Fascinating exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery discussing fakes in their collection.

The narrative discussed the nature of copies, some being part of artistic practice but other produced to deceive. It talked about the motivation of forgers for money and a desire to fool the experts. It also looked at how owners often faked signatures to increase the value of work as well as dealers who added false collectors marks for the same reason.

The show was over two floors with drawings on one and painting and sculpture on the other. The explanations of the work were clear and told some wonderful stories however there was no signage to the show and minimal indication that it was on two floors. I only found one section as I popped to see if there were any displays in the project space.

I was intrigued to see Han Van Meegeren’s fake of “The Procuress” which appears in the background of a few Vermeer paintings. Meergeren was famous for selling fakes to the Nazis. I also loved the story of how an anonymous phone call to the gallery in 1998 claimed 11 of their drawings were fakes by Eric Hebborn. The show highlighted the research on these works which has proved that some are not fakes but others are still being debated.

It was also pointed out that many of these works had not been bought as originals but as know fakes to use as teaching tools for art history students.

Closed 8 October 2023


Review

Telegraph


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