The Faun - Exposure and Reaction

Exposure and Reaction

In 2007, Shaun Greenhalgh was convicted for money laundering, predominately over the Amarna Princess. However, during the trial, the variety and number of his other forgeries were widely noted. Scotland Yard admitted that that many were likely to be still undetected. Picking up on references to the Gauguin faun, The Art Newspaper launched its own investigation and tracked The Faun down to the Art Institute in Chicago.

The Art Institute was quick to emphasise, in a statement on its website, that the sculpture came with provenance from respected sources, and The Faun was "never a principal focus of the investigation". Douglas Druick, the chief curator, described The Faun as "creative well-researched". James Cuno, the director, said it was "a crafty concept". According to Ian Wardropper, then the sculpture curator, the provenance was "completely believable". Melaine Clore from Sotheby's described The Faun as a once-in-a-decade forgery. On the process of obtaining artworks, Cuno added: "We make thousands of decisions like this annually. Once in a lifetime something like this happens." However, other commentators speculate that as much as half of the art market is made up of forgeries.

In October 2007, The Faun was removed from Art Institute where it had been on permanent display as part of its post-Impressionist collection. It remained on the website as part of the "Studio of the South" exhibition slideshow until mid-December. Because Greenhalgh's trial finished before the sculpture was revealed as a forgery, it was not impounded by police, but the Art Institute was reportedly in discussion about compensation with Sotheby's and the private dealer.