Walter Chrysler in Question: The Controversy of Owning Fakes (Q111014729)
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| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Walter Chrysler in Question: The Controversy of Owning Fakes |
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Walter Chrysler in Question: The Controversy of Owning Fakes (English)
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The Controversial Century was not the first time Chrysler’s name was associated with alleged fakes. In late 1961, the Museum of Modern Art asked him to lend several of his paintings by Pablo Picasso to its upcoming exhibition celebrating the eightieth anniversary of Picasso’s birth. Chrysler offered a half-dozen works to the MoMA show, photographs of which were then sent to the artist in Paris for his approval. Picasso responded by writing “faux”—”false” or “fake”—on two of the photos. When the perplexed MoMA staff asked Chrysler to consider retiring those works from his loan list, he refused, demanding that the Museum display all his works as authentic or forfeit the entire group. MoMA rejected his ultimatum, and Chrysler withdrew everything and walked away. (English)
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By November, Newsweek, Time, and Life magazines had all weighed in on the story, calling it an art scandal of international proportions. (English)
23 November 2021
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The ADAA quickly saw the issue as a crucial first test for the fledgling organization to prove its mettle. Over the summer, it quietly began investigating the two dealers and Chrysler. Colin alerted the National Gallery of Canada that the show contained questionable works, but its director, Charles Comfort, ignored the warning. (English)
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But the official stamp of approval came on June 17 when John Canaday, chief art critic for the New York Times, published a glowing review in that paper after seeing the show in Provincetown. His review, titled “Good Exhibition Opens the Season in Art’s Summer Capital,” was as much a paean to the vacation charms of Cape Cod as a critical assessment of the show. (English)
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Yet after the debacle of The Controversial Century, Walter Chrysler’s reputation never fully recovered. Why would someone who had amassed tens of thousands of remarkable works of art over the course of thirty years of collecting jeopardize everything with a group of obvious fakes? (English)
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In late 1961, the Museum of Modern Art asked him to lend several of his paintings by Pablo Picasso to its upcoming exhibition celebrating the eightieth anniversary of Picasso’s birth. Chrysler offered a half-dozen works to the MoMA show, photographs of which were then sent to the artist in Paris for his approval. Picasso responded by writing “faux”—”false” or “fake”—on two of the photos. When the perplexed MoMA staff asked Chrysler to consider retiring those works from his loan list, he refused, demanding that the Museum display all his works as authentic or forfeit the entire group. MoMA rejected his ultimatum, and Chrysler withdrew everything and walked away. (English)