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twitterPainting causing stir at UNLV
It’s not an original, artist’s attorney says, and he’d like it removed
Steve Marcus
A painting thought to be by Frank Stella hangs in the lobby of Judy Bayley Hall at UNLV Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009.
Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 | 2 a.m.
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For more than a decade, UNLV thought it had a valuable Frank Stella painting hanging in the lobby of the Judy Bayley Theatre. The painting was something of a mystery. The owner, who loaned it to UNLV, died. Someone called shortly after to claim the painting, but never responded with proof of ownership.
So there it hangs. Unsigned, undated, tattered and torn with a broken frame and no official provenance. Theatergoers pass beneath it. Professors have questioned its preservation — or lack thereof. Students study it.
But is it really a Stella?
After Stella looked at an image of the UNLV painting that the Sun sent to the artist through the Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York, his attorney Neale Albert called the newspaper to say he was issuing a letter to the university.
Stella wants the painting destroyed.
“It’s not a Frank Stella,” Albert said. “There was a man in New York over 10 years ago who was commissioned to copy some Frank Stellas. He made them. Sold them. The people who bought them thought they bought a Frank Stella painting. Every once in a while, one of the paintings shows up.”
Albert said he believes the UNLV painting might be one of them.
Stella would like UNLV to give it to him to destroy — or have them destroy it, Albert said.
Jeff Koep, dean of the College of Fine Arts, said through a publicist Wednesday that he was unavailable for comment on the recent discovery.
It’s likely UNLV would have the same problem destroying it as it has had preserving or authenticating it — it doesn’t own it.
University officials said they haven’t sought the descendants of the woman who donated the painting, and finding its rightful owner might not be easy.
The painting’s origins can be traced only to when it arrived at UNLV in 1998. A widow named Ruby Arkow contacted Koep. She had recently moved to Las Vegas from Chicago and her husband, Louis, had died. She was moving into a smaller place — too small to hang the painting, which appears to be about 7 feet by 4 feet — and asked Koep if UNLV would be able to display the work in a visible location. He sent art professor Robert Tracy to look at the art and then agreed to take the work.
It was an “indefinite loan,” Koep said a few weeks ago. Arkow told him she was filing paperwork that would give title of the painting to UNLV, he said. “It’s ours to restore and do whatever.” That was in March 1998. By the end of April the painting was collected, archived, insured and hung.
Ruby Arkow died in 1999. According to records, the Arkows had no children.
The UNLV work resembles paintings from Stella’s “Protractor Series” — brightly colored geometric paintings on shaped canvasses — which is why university staff involved didn’t question its authenticity, said Jerry Schefcik, director of the school’s Donna Beam Fine Art gallery.
An art expert, who wished to remain anonymous, originally thought it might be “Takht-i-Sulayman I,” a 1967 painting purchased by Robert A. Rowan, a Pasadena art collector.
But that proved untrue. The colors, which are much more vibrant in the painting at UNLV, are dissimilar. It was close enough, however, to fool several people.
Works by Stella are in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Guggenheim Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Collection. A 1968 painting, “Grey Scramble,” from another Stella series, sold for $2.5 million at auction in November 2007.
When asked about copies and forgeries of paintings, Sharon Flescher, executive director of International Foundation for Art Research, said that as many as 70 percent or more of works submitted to IFAR’s Authentication Research Service are not by the artist to whom the art was attributed. “In most cases,” she says, “these are simply misattributions or ‘overly optimistic’ attributions, rather than examples of deliberate fakes or forgeries.”
Albert, Stella’s attorney, said he doesn’t know the name of the man who painted the Stella copies and has sent out several letters similar to the one being delivered to UNLV.
If the school doesn’t destroy the painting or take it out, Albert suggests a placard to hang next to the work: “This is not a Frank Stella painting.”
Discussion: 21 comments so far…
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Great story, Kristen!
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I agree with Launce & Mary Cimo. This is a great story and I think they should keep the painting and just put a card next to it saying that it isn't a Stella painting. I do hope they can restore it though. Looks like it needs some serious repair!
Attorneys and Galleries which have exclusive rights to artists will often lie to protect their interests (they want to control the inventory to protect the resale values).....I wouldn't be surprised if the painting is an original and the galleries and attorneys are colluding with the artist to protect the value on the resale market. A little bit of due diligence on this piece by a qualified PI will trace its provenance. Do not destroy or sell the painting despite their demands as it is probably an original!
I think they should cut the painting in half; giving half back to Stella and retaining half for display. That's the only fair way to handle such a sticky situation.
Perhaps it belongs to someone with the initial "D"
Robert Tracy should have verified its legitimacy and should have known by the work itself that it was not a real Frank Stella. It is yet another self induced black eye to the art department at UNLV. How can an art historian be taken seriously if he himself cannot verify a Stella painting, which are probably amongst the easiest to verify since the artist is still alive and could have been asked. This is one of many foibles of the art department over its many years of incompetence. The department should be gutted and started from scratch.
winnabago...it took ten years, I'm sure plenty of "experts" walked by the painting.
What prompted "the Sun" to send the photo to Stella's attorney?
If the artist is still alive, It seems he would be able to actually examine it, or possibly know where the "real" original is. How many passers by stop and say "there's that Frank Stella art"? Probably not many, especially since you noted it's un-signed. The real story is the total lack of proper care taken of this painting by the staff. Usually valuable pieces are displayed in a more secure manner. Also, they should have had the owner either leave it to UNLV upon her death, or instruct them as to who title would pass to. Sloppy accounting indeed. Until today, I had never heard of Frank Stella. I bet I'm not the only one. I happen to like the painting, It's history has the mystery that is perfect for LV. It should continue to be displayed, somewhere other than between "men" and "women".
dcurtis.
Its standard practice to verify a work of art before incorporating it to any collection (even if it's on loan). Art professionals should know better than this. Don't you find the irony in the fact that so many "experts", mainly UNLV faculty, that walked by that painting and did not even question its provenance. I'm not a big fan of Frank Stella, and copies or not don't concern me, what concerns me is the academic side of the coin, tenured art historians failing to correctly identify works of art or to professionally handle art and letting it fall apart, these are the supposed experts in our midst, there is no excuse.
looks like alot of people were fooled by this piece
Awesome story
W, I never assume an academic is a professional.
Personally I find the word professional to be offensive. It is used mainly as an insult. (X is not being professional)
UNLV didn't pay anything for the painting.
They should repair it and auction it as a knock off.
I could have my children do this!
Has Fresno moved up off the deck yet?
I love it that the verification of the painting didn't include simply contacting the artist and asking him. I can just hear Bill Engvall saying "Here's your sign".
I could have gotten a Mexican to paint something better than this
cut it in half? idiot.
"cut it in half? idiot."
Umm, he may have been making a clever reference to the Biblical story of King Solomon, from 1 Kings 3:
"One day two women came to King Solomon, and one of them said: Your Majesty, this woman and I live in the same house. Not long ago my baby was born at home, and three days later her baby was born. Nobody else was there with us.
One night while we were all asleep, she rolled over on her baby, and he died. Then while I was still asleep, she got up and took my son out of my bed. She put him in her bed, then she put her dead baby next to me.
In the morning when I got up to feed my son, I saw that he was dead. But when I looked at him in the light, I knew he wasn't my son.
"No!" the other woman shouted. "He was your son. My baby is alive!"
"The dead baby is yours," the first woman yelled. "Mine is alive!"
They argued back and forth in front of Solomon, until finally he said, "Both of you say this live baby is yours. Someone bring me a sword."
A sword was brought, and Solomon ordered, "Cut the baby in half! That way each of you can have part of him."
"Please don't kill my son," the baby's mother screamed. "Your Majesty, I love him very much, but give him to her. Just don't kill him."
The other woman shouted, "Go ahead and cut him in half. Then neither of us will have the baby."
Solomon said, "Don't kill the baby." Then he pointed to the first woman, "She is his real mother. Give the baby to her."
Everyone in Israel was amazed when they heard how Solomon had made his decision. They realized that God had given him wisdom to judge fairly."
No matter genuine Stella or a copy. No matter academic or decorative a work. This is what makes art so compelling, so controversial and often (but never enough) complimentary.
The story is unusual in Las Vegas....But not in other parts of the globe.
A great story. The most important part of the work and its journey is that UNLV never identified it as a Stella. Which is quite asute.
As long as I have seen the work I have never noticed a deterioration of the condition. Leading me to believe the work was never given in mint condition?
Keeping it in conversation keeps the Las Vegas ART community engaged in dialogue.
Brilliant reporting....
P