The Vancouver Art Gallery recently discovered 10 forgeries in its painting collection, a years-long investigation that is now being presented as an exhibition.
When the works in question were donated in 2015, they were believed to have been painted in oil by JEH MacDonald, famous painter of the Group of Seven. However, their authenticity was quickly disputed, and an investigation was launched by the gallery.
It’s a rare and complex process, says Richard Hill, senior curator of Canadian art at the Smith Jarislowsky gallery. “It’s not like a Antiques Roadshowwhere someone comes in, an expert examines it and tells you everything about it,” he told CTV News.
Indeed, the works had to be examined by a series of experts from the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI).
“We started simply by doing a visual examination. It was an unusual size for the time, and the cardboard was much thicker than what [MacDonald] usually used,” explained Kate Helwig, senior conservation scientist at the CCI.
The latter also indicated that her team found – thanks to infrared photographs – a specific green pigment having been discovered in 1935, three years after the death of the artist.
It was following this rather unusual investigation that the Vancouver Art Gallery decided to document the experience to make an exhibition.
“It’s a unique opportunity for us to open the doors and reveal how institutions work,” said Anthony Kiendl, CEO and general director of the Vancouver Art Gallery, in an interview with the English-speaking media.
The exhibition JEH MacDonald? A tangled garden then presents real and fake works so that viewers can move forward in the process done during the investigation to verify the authenticity of a painting. Everything will be on display until May 12.