Tainted Archives: Art, Archives, and Authenticity
Résumé
This article examines an unprecedented case of art fraud and archival tampering. It describes the case of John Drewe, a con man who inserted fraudulent documents in the archives of British art institutions in order to create provenances for forged art works. The article details how the archives were infiltrated and outlines the havoc wrought on the British art world as a result. The article finishes by examining the implications of the case for both the art and archival worlds.
RÉSUMÉ
Cet article examine un cas sans précédent de fraude artistique et de falsification de documents d’archives. Il raconte le cas de John Drewe, un escroc qui a inséré des faux documents dans des archives d’institutions d’art britanniques dans le but de créer des provenances pour des copies d’oeuvres d’art. Le texte explique comment les archives ont été infiltrées et décrit le chaos engendré dans le monde de l’art britannique suite à ses actions. Le texte se termine en examinant la portée de ce cas tant pour le monde de l’art que pour le monde des archives.
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