Local Teacher Shares Passion For Art History At Avon Lake Library

The paintings of 17th-century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer have captivated people for centuries, primarily because of the artist’s use of light and depiction of everyday life. Those admirers have included thieves and forgers, eager to make quick money or a name for themselves by stealing or copying Vermeer’s works, as well as those of many other artists.

Local art historian and educator Sean Crum spoke recently about this dark side of the art world at Avon Lake Public Library as part of Heritage Avon Lake’s monthly educational programs.

Speaking to a group of several dozen people on Monday afternoon, Feb. 12, Crum highlighted the stories of 11 art forgeries and six famous art thefts using a slide presentation to enhance his entertaining, educational, and often humorous, talk.

One of the forgeries he discussed was unwittingly purchased in 2004 by actor Steve Martin, who bought it from a gallery in Paris for $850,000.

“It’s ludicrous!” Crum said, as he showed a side-by-side picture of the forged and authentic painting “Landscape with Horses” by German-Dutch modernist Heinrich Campendonk. As he pointed out the obvious contrasts between the two, especially noting the distinctly different color palettes and the curves and lines, he said, “I truly don’t understand how people are fooled by these forgeries.”

Museums, too, are occasionally duped by forgers and purchase a work that they later discover is a fake. However, “they are almost always the last to admit they’ve been conned,” Crum said. “They are embarrassed and can take a financial and reputational hit.”

Crum explained that many inauthentic works of art were purchased by museums worldwide in the early 1900s when museums were new and “really hungry for big-ticket items” to draw crowds and increase their status. When such items were revealed as fakes, which sometimes took decades to determine, museums that chose to keep the items, as opposed to selling them, continued to be vague about their origins.

Crum gave as an example Los Angeles’ J. Paul Getty Museum’s kouros, a statue of a standing nude youth used in ancient Greece to represent the idea of youth. Although experts have questioned the authenticity of the statue, the museum explains it this way on its web site: “[The] anomalies of the Getty kouros may be due more to our limited knowledge of Greek sculpture in this period rather than to mistakes on the part of a forger.”

Moving seamlessly from forgeries to art thefts during his 95-minute talk, Crum discussed in detail heists from the past century involving works such as Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the Mona Lisa, Norwegian Expressionist artist Edvard Munch’s painting “The Scream”, and various paintings by Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh.

Retired since 2012 from teaching art and Advanced Placement art history in North Ridgeville City Schools, where he taught for 35 years and was named Outstanding Art Teacher of the Year in 2011 by the Ohio Art Education Association, Crum now teaches art history classes through the continuing education program at Lorain County Community College. He holds a Master of Art degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

The next free HAL Presents program will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. on Monday, March 12, in the Waugaman Gallery of Avon Lake Public Library. Dr. Mark Jamba, DVM, will present “What Killed Grandma?: Dissecting Old Death Certificates”, a lighthearted overview of diseases, death, and medical terminology from the 1850s to the mid-20th century. For more information, visit www.heritageavonlake.org, or call 440.549.4425.