Steve Martin: An Unwitting Participant in an Art-Forgery Ring

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REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Steve Martin wasn’t laughing over the fact that he unknowingly bought and sold forged art. Of course, that raises the question: If you don’t know the art is fake and truly believe it’s authentic, does it all really matter?

German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported that Martin was among those caught up in the scam of a multimillion-dollar forgery ring, but he had no idea until long after he sold the Heinrich Campendonk (or, what Martin thought was a Campendonk) painting “Landscape With Horses” (or, if you’re into German: “Landschaft mit Pferden”) at an auction.

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Berlin police investigators have taken down Wolfgang Beltracchi, the alleged leader of the forgery ring. Beltracchi made it a family affair, including his wife, Helene, and his sister-in-law, among others. The group has been operating since the 1990s and mixed forgeries of Campendonk, Fernand Leger, Max Ernst and others with legitimate art pieces, throwing off galleries and buyers. The decades of deception created the largest art forgery ring in German history.

Martin purchased what he believed was a Campendonk—which was authenticated by an expert before it was sold to him—from a Paris gallery in July 2004 for about $850,000. He then sold it during a Christie’s auction in February 2006 to a Swiss businesswoman for a touch less. (No word on why Martin didn’t want the Campendonk around any more, especially because simply saying “Campendonk” could impress visitors.)

While Martin isn’t accused of any wrongdoing and the painting wasn’t determined a fake until long after the 2006 sale, he told the New York Times he has been duped one or twice before and continually becomes more cautious about forged art.

Adding a bit of humor into the situation, Martin noted he need not worry too much about the latest busted fraud ring, saying, “Of course, they’re all in jail now.”

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