[MSN] Art Institute of Chicago discloses Gauguin sculpture in fact a forgery

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Art Institute of Chicago discloses Gauguin sculpture in fact a forgery
Sculpture sold as a Gauguin is fake
By Alan G. Artner

Tribune art critic

11:41 PM CST, December 11, 2007

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For about a decade, "The Faun," a ceramic sculpture, has been at the Art
Institute of Chicago, presented as a work of the 19th Century French master
Paul Gauguin.

On Tuesday, the museum announced that the work, which it bought in 1997, is
a forgery. "The Faun" has been confirmed to be one of a long string of
contemporary forgeries by the Greenhalgh family, which Scotland Yard had
been investigating for 20 months.

The museum purchased the sculpture from a private dealer in London, who had
bought it at a Sotheby's auction in 1994.

"Everyone who bought and sold [the work] did so in good faith," said Erin
Hogan, director of public affairs at the institute.

"No one could think of any other instance in which anything like this
happened here," Hogan said. "So we don't have experience in this area. We're
talking to both Sotheby's and the private dealer about how to proceed" to
get compensated for the money it spent to buy the work. As is customary, the
institute did not reveal the purchase price.

The piece was the object of art historical research upon acquisition, but
there was no reason to believe it was anything other than represented, Hogan
said.

The sculpture was on display at the museum until October. Shaun Greenhalgh,
who made all the objects forged by the family, confessed to authorities that
"The Faun" was his handiwork. The family had consigned it to Sotheby's.

Buyers at major auctions generally are protected by an indemnification
clause that allows the sale to be rescinded if the works turn out to be
inauthentic. Sotheby's might go back to the Greenhalgh family to refund the
purchase price.

Shaun Greenhalgh received a prison sentence of 4 years and 8 months last
month. His mother, Olive, 83, was given a 12-month suspended sentence. The
father, George, 84, salesman of all the forged objects, had a deferred
sentence pending medical reports.

For 17 years, the family carried on one of the most sophisticated forgery
operations in modern history, faking scores of objects including
antiquities, watercolors, paintings and modern sculpture, authorities said.
Many of the pieces were copies of ancient objects or artworks thought to be
lost.

Their "reappearance" caused great excitement. Family members brought several
pieces to experts and museums with elaborate stories of inheritance.
Detailed accounts of previous owners also were supplied-and also were
invented.

According to the Daily Mail in London, "the conspiracy secured them around
1.2 million [euros]," or about $1.77 million. "Had all the items forged been
sold, experts estimated the family could have earned as much as 14 million
[euros]," or about $20.6 million.

aartner at tribune.com