Art forgery and theft fuel global auctions
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In recent years, artworks have been stolen from museums and sold at international auctions, raising questions about authenticity.
The theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” in 1911 and Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” are well-known examples of high-profile art crimes. While both paintings were recovered, the first found with the thief who claimed patriotic motives, the second damaged, the article questions whether the recovered pieces are the originals or expertly crafted forgeries.
The author notes that art theft is uncommon in the Arab world, historically lacking a market for art as a commodity. However, institutions have not been immune. In 1977, Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” was stolen from the Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum in Cairo and later recovered, only to be stolen again in 2010 and disappear.
Similarly, in 2003, looters targeted the Saddam Center for the Arts in Baghdad during the US-led invasion of Iraq, making off with historically and artistically valuable pieces while records of the collection vanished. The rise in art forgery is linked to increased demand for specific artists, including Iraqi Faiq Hassan, Lebanese Paul Guiragossian, and Syrian Fateh Al-Mudarres, and a weakening of state oversight.
Forged artwork has circulated through international auctions, sometimes benefiting the auction house’s own experts who lacked knowledge of art history in the region. The author witnessed forged works attributed to artists like Jawad Salim being sold in Beirut, complete with fabricated ownership histories to establish authenticity.
