Art Fraud
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FRAUD: Art Fraud is not restricted to the individual. Art Fraud is also seen within the larger art community based more on the neglect of expert responsibilities JMW Turner the source fraud: art fraud
Art Fraud of the Highest Order
How
much distortion of Art History is due to aristocratic influence and
governmental self-serving regulations? Certain customs and laws control the movement of art in order
to protect tourism, jobs, and financial benefits that derive from historic art.
Top level control groups understand that historic art is big business
by virtue of the prices that rare artworks command and national tourism that
concurrently follows supportive publicity. Individuals act out their roles
within this schema in accordance with customary precedence, and often, do not
realize the larger implications of their actions, or inactions.
In addition, there is a constant fear held by subservient
officials, curators, and educators of being reproached or sued for decisions
made or opinions offered to the general public; and therefore, there is a
tendency to distance themselves from newly discovered or re-discovered historic
masterpieces. Many such artworks remain in limbo without proper attributions, or
are given deprecating ones at best.
There are many subsidiary tentacles of this beast that baits the
modern day connoisseur.
The Bigger Problem’
Ultimately the bigger problem is one of fundamental social
issues, ones that revolve around politics and economics. The main dilemma as it
pertains to Art History is that one of the most dependable ways by which any
culture records its general history and long term history is through tangible
artifacts such as art. Because much of ones learning is born of past experience,
it sensibly follows that truth and accuracy of historical and art historical
records equate to accuracy in contemporary decision-making.
Self-serving interests of the individual are what motivate
political decision-making. Whether a country’s control group is an old boy’s
club, aristocracy, or corporate board network, the result is the same’ “Reciprocal
Patronage.
Reciprocal patronage is not an altruistic standard; it often
leads to deception and injustice. As a result art historical accuracy is
subordinated to the desire for short term gain. Economic concerns over tourism
and the allocation of individual benefits, and those related to individual and
national prestige are the major forces that are presently driving a wedge of
deception between truth and history.
In this day and age
the term art
expert is surely
sterile
Deposition, tiny
17th century oil on copper
The
complexities of art appraisal, art evaluation, and art authentication are such
that most of those with an advanced understanding of the art world are loath to
get involved unless they have something to gain.
In the museum setting experts are most often unwilling to speak out in
support of a newly discovered or re-discovered painting because of orders from
senior institutional bureaucracy. Terms and expressions such as society,
institute, community of experts, research project are somewhat euphemistic.
Members of such self-supporting groups are in fact allies in a battle against
litigation first and foremost.
Most museum curators and institutional experts have little to gain and a lot
to lose if they wrongly accept a “dud” as authentic; and thus, in an attempt to
distance themselves from responsibility they more often become an obstruction to
those seeking a proper identification for their art work. Ultimately, it is
important to remember that a picture is often condemned for more complex
reasons than because it is spurious or fake. The following are areas that
must be fully considered when assessing authorship:
Excerpt from
Rescuing Turner: A new Age of Art Discovery
r malcolm setters / graham setters
forensics studies in art
art scientific analysis
connoisseurship
provenance
art politics
“‘In 1987, Sotheby’s paid out-of-court damages to the original owner of a Sebastiano del Piombo portrait knocked down for 180 at auction in Chester.
It subsequently sold for 330,000 in London, and - after being cleaned - for
a reported 6.5 million to the Getty (where quite a few rediscovered
masterpieces end up).’ (Ian Warrell/Warrell, The Age,
AU 2002)
“Even as early as 1931 Walter Bayes found that the
legal fears of one
influential official over authenticating paintings drove him to
incompetence. When Bayes asked: “Millionaires’ must tremble at your nod,”
the reply came: “If you knew my boy’ how much it is the other way round. The
interests concerned are so great, and money can do such strange things, that
I find it generally safer to hold my tongue.” (Walter Bayes, Turner, A
Speculative Portrait, p5)
It is clear that an art expert must tackle diversity!!!
What
one should look for when acquiring artwork: Quality…
originality… support… rarity… condition
Quality
might best be defined as the ability of an artwork to rest comfortably within
its format. This takes skill and practice on the part of the artist, and it is
the ‘master’ with the greatest ability to present a bondable unity for the
viewer who gains ‘genius’ status.
This is surely a two-way process
by which the viewer must also have the harmony of spirit to appreciate the
artwork.
Originality
brings the artwork as close to a creator’s genius as possible. Firstly the
object must be done by the hand of the artist as opposed to a reproduction; and
secondly, it should be as central as possible to one of the artist’s most
innovative periods.
Support
for an artist can come in many ways, some orthodox and others
revolutionary. The orthodox ones might include: prizes, medals, and
professional designations from institutions (for example: JMW Turner RA,
or James Orrock RI, ROI). Institutions by virtue of
their bureaucratic nature tend to reward traditional artists as opposed to the
most innovative ones. There are many more traditional artists.
The French impressionists won
very little orthodox support, but were very revolutionary. Price listings
for their work and the volume of literature about them attest to their
posthumous importance. Turner was also revolutionary and this is what bolstered
his fame; much more-so than the support he received from the Royal Academy R. A.
Rarity is
a result of limited supply and this in and of itself will increase the price of
an artwork. If the art and historic value of an item is great, and the supply is
limited, competition will make such work hard to find.
Condition
is a relative term. How old or fragile an artwork is will determine the amount
of degradation or damage that is acceptable. Seldom does one find a Renaissance
sculpture or a medieval picture unscathed. Conversely, experimentation with
untested media has resulted in substantial conservation
problems for modern works.
friendly advice on
collecting is available by contacting Robert and Graham Setters
IMPORTANT
POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A TREASURE
SIZE:
-
Is it portable?
-
Is it easy to store?
-
Is it easy to protect; does it fit into a vault or safety deposit box?
- Lifestyle; do you have a small or large home, apartment or country estate? DURABILITY / FRAGILITY:
- Consider the proposed use of your potential new treasure, and if it is suitable for its new location and purpose.
- Shipping; will it require special packaging?
- Longevity; is it subject to environmental degradation? POPULARITY:
- This is good for immediate resale.
- Conversely, as an intermediate to long term investment, popularity is a negative factor (a fad soon passes). PROVENANCE:
- Is the piece from an important collector, dealer, collection? It helps to establish authenticity and gives the piece prestige. Although celebrity of a former owner may perk interest presently, memories of famous people fade, reducing the effectiveness of this factor long term.
- It can prove helpful if a piece has at one time sold through a major auction house.
- Collect as much literature and history on a piece after acquisition; this will prove invaluable if resold. PRICE:
- The dealer motto: “buy low/sell dear”; if you choose the right dealer he/she will help you accomplish the same.
- Predict popular trends before they become full blown. VALUE:
- Is the piece important enough to interest major dealers, museums, or major auction galleries?
- If an item is part of a collection, lesser important pieces are acceptable additions. AUTHENTICITY:
- Is this easily established?
- Have similar items sold at major auction galleries? RECOGNIZABLE:
- Recognizable items are easier to classify and therefore, often develop into unquestioned commodities.
Helpful for authentication.
- It is more difficult to find recognizable pieces, because most have already been discovered. DEMAND:
- Is the item attractive to nations with strong economies relative to ones own? Presently some of these are USA, Germany and Hong Kong. CONDITION:
- This is important but is relative to age, material, and rarity. AESTHETIC:
If your object is aesthetically appealing, then your potential new treasure will command greater appreciation.
- Has your potential treasure been produced by a skilled artisan, craftsman, or talented artist?
- Decorative quality increases demand and raises price. CULTURAL:
- Historic (appreciated by scholars and connoisseurs)
- Heritage and sentimental value
- Educational value
- Cross-cultural appreciation PSYCHOLOGICAL / MARKET FORCES:
- Negative and positive publicity
- Ivory collecting; what are the legal consequences? Although an important historic carving medium, recent negative attitudes towards its use have been very influential politically and socially; which in turn has affected its desirability as a collectable. Gun collecting is affected likewise.
- Impressionist paintings, the Art Deco style, Ming porcelain and the like; recognize how publicity has reinforced the popularity of these and other collectibles. SENTIMENT:
- Heirloom
- Heritage art appraisal and art authentication of European and American Master paintings, art appraisal, art value, art authentication, fine art appraisal, art appraiser, fine art appraiser, estate appraisal, estate appraiser, painting value, painting appraisal, painting appraiser, online art appraisal, online art appraiser, online fine art appraisal Rescuing Turner: A New Age of Art Discovery: r malcolm setters / graham setters Institutional evolution Tribal Instincts Art Expertise Art versus Science
HOME Source: JMW Turner Joseph Mallord William, National Gallery of Canada Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum of Modern Art the British Museum art museum art history Christie’s Sotheby’s Tate Gallery art world painting old master paintingssea piece ShipwreckMartin Butlin Wildenstein Institute Yale Center British Art The Getty Getty Research Institute provenance Clore Gallery Tate Gallery Turner Gallery curator museum antique forensic fingerprint conservator International Foundation for Art Research IFAR English landscape art historian art criticism IIC CCI Canadian Conservation Institute McCrone Research Institute artist artists pictures paintings gallery galleries drawing picture biography collection archive history of art discovery discoveries discovery ca discovery forensic science Tate Gallery London the tate Turner Society Turner Society News TSN old master masterpiece Rembrandt Picasso Francoise Boucher Monet Boucher Claude Monet Angelica Kauffmann Murillo Whistler James McNeill Whistler Rubens Peter Paul Rubens Renior Claude Titian Joshua Reynolds fakes forgeries connoisseurship connoisseur art expert renaissance Getty Museum James Orrock Orrock Sir J.C. Robinson Turner portrait John Paul Getty Agnew Agnew’s antiques research specialist consultant expertise professional expert witness Oxford Cambridge Frick Collection curator Andrew Mellon Goya Manet Emily Carr Manet Durer Albrecht Durer Peter Paul Rubens | | | | | | An introduction: JMW Turner Rescue off site: Turner Society Tate Gallery National Gallery London Courtauld Institute of Art IFAR International Foundation for Art Research NGC National Gallery Canada Frick Collection Yale Center for British Art The Getty Biro Forensic Studies CCI Canadian Conservation Institute
Wildenstein Institute McCrone Research Institute Collections International Center for Art Intelligence GMM Village Voice Andrew Wilton Rizzoli Tate Clore Christie’s Sotheby’s auction house On site: JMWT bequest news corresp bibliography sa
discovery style provenance connoisseur Orrock forensic signature Butlin legal catalogue portrait sting Courbet Roach old St Durer Manet bio Rubens
medal Unknown Turner ngc shipwreck IFAR/RRP institutional copies book your story Hand C theory C dialogue expertise expert Kayser NGL Fraud Chronology Publishers Oxford Cambridge Yale Princeton Harvard Stanford Penn State Rockefeller UPA J. Paul Getty Trust Publications University College London UCL
Penticton British Columbia Canada
(c) setters 2003, Rescuing Turner: The Art Project & [/)