Spring 2015
SCHOOL OF
GRADUATE AND
PROFESSIONAL
STUDIES
3.2.15
Is That Painting a
Picasso or Fake-casso?
Art forgery is a
growing threat. An
art dealer was recently charged by federal prosecutors for paying an
artist to duplicate a Pablo Picasso pastel called
“The Woman in the Blue Hat.” The forged piece
was painted for $1,000 and then sold by the dealer for $2 million. After examining the piece and
finding it to be a forgery, the buyer reported it to
the FBI. In cases such as these, qualified forensic
professionals are called in to investigate and detect
art fraud as well as to assist in the legal process
when forgeries are detected.
CONTACT
INFORMATION
Thomas Coogan
Associate Dean, Forensics
443-352-4075
[email protected]
Angela Scagliola Reynolds
Director, School of Graduate
and Professional Studies
Recruiting & Admissions
443-352-4414
[email protected]
Art forgery has become so rampant that some
experts suggest that the amount of fake art produced by forgers actually exceeds the number of
legitimate artworks. One especially prolific forger
was Wolfgang Beltracchi. CBS News reported
that Beltracchi’s career as a forger made him a
multi-millionaire. His forged paintings went
undetected in museums, galleries, and private collections all around the world for more than 40
years. In fact, Beltracchi was such a proficient forger that he even created new works under the pretense that these discovered paintings were lost or
forgotten.
Art masterpieces are regularly sold for millions
and tens of millions of dollars—and in some cases,
even more; "When Will You Marry," a painting by
the famous French post-Impressionist Paul
Gauguin, sold in early 2015 for nearly $300 million. Given the rise in art forgery and the enormous amount of money at stake, forensic professionals are making efforts to stem the tide of this
epidemic. The FBI has an Art Crime Team that is
comprised of special agents who receive comprehensive training in art investigations. Recently,
INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police
Organization, gathered nearly 70 representatives
from law enforcement agencies, private institutions, and international organizations from 22
countries to combat the increasing global trend of
art forgeries.
Forensic science is being used to identify forged
artwork. Crime laboratory professionals use
chemical tests to confirm whether a forger has
used modern materials to create a copy of an older
piece. X-rays allow forensic scientists to examine
layers of paint and verify if a new painting has
been forged on top of an old canvas. Laboratory
personnel also use ultraviolet and infrared lighting
to determine whether anything was added to the
painting after it was originally finished.
Students in Stevenson’s forensics graduate degree
programs learn investigative and scientific techniques like those used by the FBI and other law
enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute art
forgers. With the possibility of making massive
profits from selling $1,000 paintings for $2 million,
art forgery is bound
to continue and,
therefore, the need
for qualified forensic professionals will
continue as well.