[CPProt.net] Everhart Museum in Scranton cannot verify that stolen Pollock is authentic

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

12/30/2005 
Dabbling in fakery Defining 'art,' even when authentic  
 
Great thinkers throughout the ages have struggled to define what, exactly,
constitutes art. Perhaps the only true definition is that art is in the eye
of the beholder. 
  
That said, those who profess arts literacy - say, artists, art dealers,
gallery operators and museum administrators - have a fundamental obligation
to at least present to the rest of us works that are authentic.

Depending upon which eye is beholding the purported Jackson Pollock work
"Springs Winter," it could resemble a well-used house painter's drop cloth
or a genius' exploration of the medium. But the conversation should begin
with the certitude that it is, at least, Jackson Pollock's work.

Incredibly, officials of the Everhart Museum in Scranton cannot even do that
in the wake of the painting's Nov. 18 theft. Because neither the museum nor
the artist from whom it is on loan can verify that it is an authentic
Pollock, the FBI is pondering its withdrawal from the investigation. Yet it
was presented to the public as an authentic Pollock painting, and
speculation about its value ranged as high as $11.6 million.

Not only can the museum not certify the authenticity of a work it displayed
as being authentic, it will not explain to the public the woeful security
situation that led to the theft in the first place. Whatever values attend
the promotion of fine art at the Everhart, public accountability appears not
to be one of them.  

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