The Faun - Sold Twice Over

Sold Twice Over

In 1995, The Faun was sold at Sotheby's for £20,700. The Greenhalghs, who worked together as a family, had constructed a provenance based around Olive Greenhalgh, (Shaun's mother), using her maiden name "Roscoe". She claimed to be a descendant of Roderick O'Conor, a friend of Gauguin's purported to have bought the sculpture at the 1917 exhibition, and known to have bought at least one other. Legitimising their ownership through inheritance was a typical ploy of the Greenhalghs, as was forging documents to go with it. In this case, Olive produced a copy of the sale invoice.

There were no concerns about authenticity. As well as being well received by Sotheby's itself, The Faun was authenticated by the Wildenstein Institute in Paris. Their catalogue raisonné had not yet been published when the sculpture was sold on 30 November, but the auction house had received a letter two weeks beforehand indicating The Faun's incorporation.

The first buyers were experienced London art dealers Howie and Pillar. They lived with it for years and described it as "a wonderful object". When the curator for the Art Institute of Chicago, Douglas Druick, saw The Faun he was reportedly "intrigued" and "very keen to acquire it". Subsequently, the Art Institute carried out their own research into the authenticity of the item and purchased it in 1997, for what was thought to be about $125,000. However, to this day, the Art Institute has refused to reveal actual details of the price it paid. What is known is that the purchase was funded, at least in part, by the Major Acquisitions Centennial Endowment and is associated with the estate of Suzette Morton Davidson. At any rate, the Art Institute plans to seek compensation from Sotheby's.