To Catch a Thief

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Woman Playing the Lute ca. 1933
Han van Meegeren (a Vermeer forgery)

The more we learn about art forgeries past and present, the more we understand that the business of making forgeries of paintings by sought-after artists has probably been with us since the market for paintings began. Art forgers must be very knowledgeable, talented and hard-working to succeed at their deceptive craft. One might wonder why they do it - many of them could make a good living as legitimate painters, hands down. Perhaps it is the thrill of fooling everyone, or maybe a smug sense of superiority or disdain for the ignorance of the buyers. Investigators have a tough job in detecting the frauds created by the cleverest forgers, but new technologies are helping. Forgeries have now been discovered in reputable museums and galleries all over the world: “...in some places, such as Russia, it is estimated that more than half of all artworks on…