Featured Smithsonian Article on Norval Morrisseau Forgeries

An interesting read. Hopefully no paywall.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/inside-biggest-art-fraud-history-180983692/

 

Very interesting article. Apparently one of the largest art fraud schemes ever - possibly as many as 10,000 fake paintings.

 

very interesting....... a good conclusion to the years of back and forth online , discussing this very thing. !!

"Rybak determined that Voss hatched the plan around 1996, forging paintings and selling and consigning them before amassing a team to produce fakes across Ontario and Alberta."

So, mine, bought in a private sale in 1991...... said to be from 1975...... is looking much better these days !!...

 

Good read but wasn't expecting it to be so long. I sold a small Morrisseau many years ago and, now, wonder if it might have been a fake. Tried to see if I still had a pic in archive but no luck. I bought it at a local thrift store so had absolutely no provenance.

 

I found one of the saddest things is that he was victimized in part because he was a Canadian First Nations artist; the fakers were saying things like "he's Native and drinks a lot so he probably can't remember what he painted."

 

Here's a link to a 2 hour ducumentary:

 

Well... ""Norval Morriseau There are no fakes"

I posted a link on this thread a long time ago:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/three-woodlands-style-acrylic-paintings.48041/#post-1786173

 

well worth watching, thanks for the link MOS

 

This one has provenance going back to 1973

 

and acid matts.........