Review: Art and Craft
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
He creates beautiful and skilled copies and "gifts" them to duped museums — 46 in 20 states, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
City Paper grade: B
Mark Landis, a wisp of a man now in his early 60s, is an art forger. He creates beautiful and skilled copies and “gifts” them to duped museums — 46 in 20 states, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art. That’s not illegal, as no money’s involved. He calls it “philanthropy.” The New York Times compared him to Truman Capote (voice) and Norman Bates (creepy “mother” anecdotes). He drinks sneaky booze out of a milk of magnesia bottle. He reads a list of his mental-health diagnoses — schizophrenia, psychosis — and argues for or against each charge. He eats a lot of TV dinners. He’s got enemies — Matthew Leininger, a former museum registrar, pursues his cons in a Catch Me if You Can-style chase, but that’s a snoozy subplot. The real interest is Landis — a man who manages to be venerable, pitiable, reviled and awkwardly charming all at once. How artful. And how crafty.
