Stolen Art2007
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Member Reviews (2)
It is as if someone, calling himself Pavel Novak, had brought to life the ambitions of the character Wyatt Gwyon from William Gaddis's "The Recognitions" (1952). In the book, Wyatt paints perfect copies of masterpieces for an unscrupulous man who sells them as originals. Finally, Wyatt, armed with proof that he is the artist of these copied works wants to go public, but no one--the buyers, sellers, critics--will even listen to him. No one wants to believe that it is even possible to copy an object they fetishize, to blur their recognition of a master's hand. It's as if Pavel Novak read that book and tried Wyatt's experiment. It appears Gaddis was right--no one wants to talk about what should have been a notorious incident in the art collecting world. The art world would sooner forget that it can be collectively fooled and that to this day, questions remain about the provenance of works that change hands for fortunes or have been displayed in prestigious institutions for generations. The beauty of it is that even if someone claiming to be Pavel Novak came forward, would anyone believe him?
Any art forgery story is fascinating and this one is no different. Although it does not completely resolve at the end, it is still a fascinating piece of art history and how forgery can be executed.