While the art world generally slows to a crawl in the summertime, this one feels exceptionally lethargic as galleries and museums paw through their holdings to cobble together group shows whose curatorial theses often amount to little more than an obscure literary quote or two—or, in the case of London’s National Gallery, a resounding “fuck it!”
“Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries” comes clean with a survey of the museum’s biggest botch jobs, including false attributions—Sir Charles Lock Eastlake was effectively ousted from his directorial post after mistaking a purchase for a Holbein in 1845—as well as acquisitions “upgraded” to Old Master status ex post facto. A gimmick, yes. But a transparent one: “I wish we had more fakes, I’m not worried about the reputation of the institution. It’s important to know how clever forgers can be,” says director Nicholas Penny, waving the white flag of surrender. (American institutions might jot down a note or two: Do recall that somewhere—on the Bowery, perhaps? Silverlake?—an as-yet-unnamed museum or five will welcome the winner of Sarah Jessica Parker’s art world reality shitshow for a “sponsored tour.”)
Not all desperate measures are created equal, it turns out. This one goes to the Brits.
+ Gallery to stage its first exhibition dedicated exclusively to fakes and mistakes – and, its director insists, they can be a pure joy (Independent)
An Old Man in an Armchair by a follower of Rembrandt, (17th century). The portrait was bought by the National Gallery in 1957 in the belief that Rembrandt himself painted the work. He didn’t. Image courtesy the National Gallery.
