New-York tribune., 1922-11-05

ONFIDENCE operations Of various
II sorts have taken me all ever Che
world. Mostly on these foreign trips
~ i was playing cards on steamships,
s. naturally, / picked up much information
's,as confidence work in other lines. There
3 sakking The confidence fraternity overlooks.
s..thkg for which the public spends money
nuSderable sums will be seized upon by
-,rdlsrs as a means OF profit.
ii yigw of the great sums spent on paint
Il il is not surprising that fraud has been
...arsd When hundreds of thousands of
rru,,s arc paid for pictures at auction, with
..sasof rare canvases mounting to incredible
s,,x the swindier cannot be kept out of the
- But ore has to have the knack to make
s,aM it. lie has to have knowledge oi
4 and 1t is necessary to have assistants who
q onIy know art theoretically, but can paint
I'd some proficiency. Then a fake canvas
IL 10 run the scrutiny of experts. Personally
uessr went in for the game, but learned
moagh Of its ramifications while abroad to
Become interested.
The big end Of the art swindle seemed TO be
The taking Of pictures, but plenty was going
an IN other lines--and always has been going
on. The ancient Romans, assI found out in
Italy, we're expert takers. They initiated
oreeiors stones, canoes, bronzes and other
works Of art so well that the limitations were
sccepted as genuine and have been sold and
resold as such for centuries. The numerous
cspies Of Greek masterpieces unearthed in
gcns is the best indication Of the extent of
49, nor-i,y Il
sgsged In the business.
IScund that to-day the best reward for the
1t isker is in putting over spurious canvases
tsrnuine. Among the many cults which have
iyeloped there is none which equals the pic
sste cult in point OF expenditure. And let any
srs Of cult be developed it is certain to
tnng confidence 'ien in its train. have talked
vA aswindlers-known them Intimately, in
he*-who specialized in tapestries, rugs, pic
lure frames and various other objects Of art,
ht those who dealt in "doctored" paintings
wsmed to me to have the most highly speci-
Lksd game and to come the nearest to earn
hg the big rewards which many of then,
ssye gained.
I used the word "doctored" in connection
IA these fake paintings because no other
wd will apply. The pictures are literally
hctored' until they are ready to pass the
nutiny Of the most expert. The man who
does the work is even called doctor" /
visited the workshop or studio, or one might
even call it a laboratory, of such a .'doctors
recently. 1t was located not far from New
York City. found the doctor to be pleas
ant, middle-aged German - an artist of no
mean ability. He took great pride in his skill
in "doctoring" old paintings as well he might.
Most people imagine that faxed old masters
are fakes in their entirety-that is, that they
are copies OF well known masterpieces. Such
- not the case, as rule. The whereabouts
OF the originals are too we'll known for imi-
tatons to be accepted for anything but the
copies they are.
Most Of the picture taking is done by choos-
Ing old pictures which may be "doctored' until
they can be put forward as examples of the
work Of certain artists. Such pictures are
picked up, for the most part, at sales Of house
md effects. Perhaps painting may have
been in family for generations. Finally, it
indS its way under the hammer of the auc-
toneer. An expert in the swindling line con-
eudes that it has enough of certain values to
b classed as the work of certain dcad-and-
gone artist-that is, after the painting has
Undergone some alterations at the hands of
The doctor"
These alterations cannot be described in de-
nll for there are secrets which the doctor