Art Appreciation: Art Fakes, Forgeries, and Copies

It is believed that around 50% of all artworks on the art market and in museums are forged. Loans and donations from trusted private collectors to museums are rarely checked but taken on trust. It takes more than simply copying an artist’s style to be a successful forger. An analysis of artist’s complete oeuvre, subject matter, and stylistic nuances is required with the production of a plausible paper trail to create a convincing provenance. Art historians and auctioneers are always on the lookout for a fake using art forensics to uncover the art crime committed. Would you be able to spot a forgery? Find out how on this course. We will never know the names of the most successful art forgers, could these have been women - the silent forgers. But those that craved attention left clues or made mistakes which revealed their identities and turned them into celebrities admired for their artistic skills. Favourite artists of art forgers include Picasso, Matisse, Lowry and the most copied of them all Modigliani. The course will study the most well-known forgers Han van Meergen, Elmyr de Hory, Eric Hebborn, Wolfgang and Helene Beltracchis, as well as other women involved in art crimes.