Steve Martin, actor, comedian, and author of the art world narrative
An Object of Beauty, has been hitting headlines again this week, but not for all of the right reasons.
It has been reported that the passionate art lover and collector has been the victim of art fraud. Having bought what was considered to be an original painting by the German modernist artist Heinrich Campendonk, Martin was later to find out that the painting, which he bought for around 700,000 Euros, was actually a fake.
German police are said to believe that the painting is the work of a notorious gang of art forgers that may be responsible for defrauding the art world to the tune of around 34.1 million Euros since 2001.
The four-person gang are reported to have concentrated on forging works by early 20th century artists who are both well known and sought after, managing to create around 44 fakes that have passed through the market in the past decade.
These conmen were arrested and charged, bringing an end to their production of faked art works, and Martin was cleared of any wrong-doing, having had no knowledge of the elaborate ruse surrounding the sale of the work. When he purchased the work in Paris, it came from a notable gallery, with authentication from an expert art historian, and with a very convincing provenance.