Though not a story about an original prop from film or television, recent reporting about a sculpture identified as fraud by the Art Institute of Chicago is most definitely a story of interest for fellow hobbyists.

As reported by the Chicago Tribune (below), “The Faun” ceramic sculpture has been on display at the Art Institute of Chicago for the last ten years, believed to be an original 19th Century work of Paul Gauguin. This past week, the museum announced the work is a forgery. The museum bought the piece in 1997 from a dealer in London, who, in turn, purchased the piece from Sotheby’s in 1994.

A family (father, mother, son) named Greenhalgh are believed to have run a very advanced forgery operation for the last 17 years, and were the consignors to Sotheby’s. The son, Shaun, has already been sentenced to over four years in prison following his confession.

I believe stories such as this (as well as the recent “Fraud Trial Features Famous Firearms“) have direct correlations with our own hobby, in which fraud (not to mention theft) is prevalent with much less oversight. Also of interest, in this article, is the reference to Sotheby’s indemnification clause: [Read more…]