Fakes Found in Art Show

Some of the works exhibited as originals in the Student Collection now at Fogg Museum are reproductions or counterfeits, in some cases without the knowledge of the owners.

One painting, which had been set apart from the rest, has been taken down. The canvas, which was labeled as "Boating Scene," by Raoul Dufy, "Bateaux sur la Marne," hangs in Brussels.

The staff at Fogg, to whom acknowledgements for help and advice are made in the Student Collection's catalogue, largely disclaims responsibility for the mistakes, which are few. "The idea of the student collection," stated Jakob Rosenberg '19, professor of Fine Arts, "was that the students do it on their own." According to Philip Hofer '21, secretary of the Fogg Museum, the students organized the collection "mostly without supervision."

Another professor, who requested that his name not be used, admitted that "Some of the labels are not what they should be." Nevertheless, he added, the exhibition was a "praiseworthy undertaking" and "the students made as few mistakes as they could be expected to."

Benjamin Rowland, Jr. '28, professor of Fine Arts, on the other hand, remarked that "There should have been more people doing a little editing." In that case, he said, the student collectors "might have been saved a few headaches." Rowland also criticized the collection as too "conservative."

Despite the organizers' expectation that the exhibition would "allay...doubts...as to whether there would be any noticeable quantity of avant-garde art," Rowland felt that "They weren't taking much of a chance," and adhered to established names at the expense of younger contemporary artists.

Most Fakes Submitted Accidentally

Most of the fakes were submitted as originals only accidentally. As one member of the Fogg staff explained, the paintings were often gifts to their student owners. In the case of the Dufy, for example, the fraud seems innocently inept. Only a portion of the original painting is reproduced -- the portion chosen by the milk company. The painting's prominent position in the exhibition is owing at least in part, to the fact that its owner offered it late, as an after-thought.

One donor, however, stated that his intent had been purposeful. "It is only the individual who styles himself as one of a 'cultural elite,'" he commented, who claims to be able to discriminate to the finest degree the 'good' from the 'bad' that can take offense. Here the scholar-as-collector reveals the fact that his financial and social interests in painting have surpassed his artistic."