Becoming known as the “Wacker case, ” in 1927 German art dealer Otto Wacker convinced leading Vincent van Gogh experts that he owned 33 of van Gogh’s paintings. He claimed that a Russian (who who had to remain anonymous because he transferred them illegally) had purchased these paintings. A few weeks before Wacker opened an exhibit to display and sell these works, art historian and curator, Grete Ring, noticed something suspicious about these paintings. However, she could not pinpoint it (this often happens with forged works); therefore, with Walter Feilchenfeldt, they agreed that at least four of the exhibit’s works were fake and ordered the rest to be examined with scientific methods. It took five years to declare that all paintings were fake, and in 1932, Wacker was sentenced to 19 months in jail.
By Caroline Scarola
Sources:
“Dr. Grete Ring.” The British Museum. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG43726
Felichenfeldt, Walter. “Van Gogh fakes: the Wacker affair, with an illustrated catalogue of the forgeries.” The Fakes Controversy. http://www.vggallery.com/misc/fakes/wacker.htm