Fake people are everywhere but the art world is chock-full of imposters, fakes and crooks who have been deceiving people for decades. Whether it’s faking paintings, faking their social status or even a fake celebrity, here are the top imposters in the art world and beyond.
The fake New York It Girl
Anna Delvey acted like a high-class heiress who hailed from Germany and was based in New York City. But she wasn’t. She managed to fool everyone from Michael Xufu, the Anna Delvey Foundation and Amalia Ulman. As the Guardian reports, it was all the “invention of a Russian woman, Anna Sorokin, currently being held without bail at Rikers Island after pleading not guilty to crimes including grand larceny and theft.” Ouch.
Anna Delvey acted like a high-class heiress who hailed from Germany and was based in New York City. But she wasn’t. She managed to fool everyone from Michael Xufu, the Anna Delvey Foundation and Amalia Ulman. As the Guardian reports, it was all the “invention of a Russian woman, Anna Sorokin, currently being held without bail at Rikers Island after pleading not guilty to crimes including grand larceny and theft.” Ouch.
The painter who faked lost paintings
Wolfgang Beltracchi is known as an art forger who made millions by faking paintings of other artists. “Beltracchi’s forgeries are unusual because he didn’t copy existing paintings. Instead he created new works he imagined artists might have painted as well as works that were lost or missing from catalogs,” writes 60 Minutes.
The white guy who claims to be Native American
Jimmie Durham, who had a retrospective at The Whitney Museum of American Art last fall, claims to be a Native American activist. But as some reports claim, he has no Native American ancestry, even though he self-describes as Cherokee. Many call him a pretend Cherokee. He uses the argument in his art, as one of his pieces reads: “My skin is not really this dark, but I am sure that many Indians have coppery skin.
The copycat painter
Canadian artist Andy Dixon makes brightly colored pop art paintings of flowers in vases. An artist named John Holcomb has been accused of replicating Andy’s artworks; from vases to dinner parties and portraits. Holcomb has denied the allegations for visual plagiarism.
The Kylie Jenner impersonating performance artist
Well, this isn’t really about the art world, but it’s worth a mention because it’s a brilliant work of performance art. One YouTuber named Coby Persin teamed up with a Kylie Jenner impersonator (Amanda Carrera) and pulled a prank in New York City. He hired fake security and fake paparazzi. It caused a scene that Kylie Jenner was in the city, fans immediately started taking selfies with her. The video has 7m views, so far. Wow.
Text by Nadja Sayej
Photos via thecut.com, wilsonanastasios.com, vulture.com, vice.com, diply.com
