Museums across the country have displayed the artwork of master forger Mark Landis. Yet none of them realized it.
For 30 years, Landis has duped the art world, donating his forgeries to museums and passing them off as originals. Now Landis is the subject of a new documentary, “Art and Craft,” that premiered Thursday night and continues showing for the next week at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film explores Landis’ confounding motivations — a diagnosed schizophrenic, he never attempts to make any money off the forged paintings.
“It starts out as an art caper where you feel like it might answer all the questions,” says co-director Sam Cullman. “But obviously life is a lot messier than that.”
Alongside the originals, here are four of Landis’ forgeries that fooled reputable art institutions.
‘Houses Along a Canal’ by Stuart Davis (c. 1914-18)
Who got duped: Mississippi Museum of Art
Surprisingly, Landis agreed to be in the film. “We spent lots of time with him, both as forger and philanthropist,” says co-director Jennifer Grausman. “He’s been a very willing participant.”
‘Terrassiers, au Trocadéro’ by Stanislas Lépine (c. 1890)
Who got duped: Oklahoma City Museum of Art, St. Louis University Museum of Art, University of Kentucky Museum of Art, Mississippi Museum of Art, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
But so far, Landis has yet to see how the film portrays him. “We’ve begged him to watch it,” says Cullman. “He is obsessed with film in general, and he knows a ton about film. He sees his life in many ways as a film. His very funny sort of response he says is, ‘I don’t have to watch it. I lived it.’”
‘A Woman Lying on a Chaise Longue’ by Jean Antoine Watteau (c. 1719)
Who got duped: Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, LSU Museum of Art
So, since Landis wasn’t selling the forgeries, is this illegal? “You’ll have to see the film,” says Cullman.
‘Estudio de Tres Mujeres Desnudas’ by José Clemente Orozco
Who got duped: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, Art Museum of the Americas
Museums not listed here may want to check their inventory. “I think there are still Mark Landis forgeries that haven’t been discovered out there,” says Grausman.
Update: A previous version of this article identified the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as having been fooled by Landis. While the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette was in possession of a Landis forgery at one point, the museum says that it was not duped, discovered the forgery within hours and went on to warn other museums about Landis’ work.