Meet Mark Landis, The Man Who Duped 45 Museums For 30 Years With His Expertly Forged Paintings

For centuries, talented individuals have managed to convince eager buyers about the authenticity of their forgeries. These people have made good money selling stuff that simply isn’t genuine. However, Mark Landis, a man who managed to dupe the art community, is a forger like no one. His techniques as well as his intentions to forge and offload creations might not make any sense to any professional conmen.

For nearly 30 years, art forger Mark Landis duped over 40 museums into accepting fakes into their collections. Though he has claimed international notoriety, what set him apart from other conmen, was the fact he never asked for any remuneration or reward for the ‘works of art’ that he successfully convinced curators of some of the biggest and most prestigious museums are authentic.

Now a new documentary called Art & Craft is being made to highlight his rather extraordinary talent and unusual intentions. In case you are interested in seeing some of his finest creations, you might want to check the schedule of a touring exhibition called Intent to Deceive.

Mark has certainly been a fascinating paradox. He is a loner, who craves interaction. Though his house in Laurel, Miss., is extremely cluttered, his scams are well-organized. Speaking about the intriguing personality, who loves old movies and TV shows, Art & Craft co-director Sam Cullman said,

“Mark is one of those people that are so unusual that you kind of don’t know what to make of when you meet him.”

Why isn’t Mark serving time for successfully peddling fakes? That’s the biggest twist in the tale. Mark never sold any of his fakes. He simply convinced the curators into accepting the fakes as original works of art. Speaking about his extraordinary skills of persuasion, Robert Wittman, the man who founded the FBI’s Art Crime Team, said,

“Not only were his fakes convincing, but he also knew exactly what to say when he met with museums.”

One museum director, on request of anonymity had this to say about the man,

“Landis would imply he had more paintings he might donate and possible endowments from the family’s estate. He knew right where to hit us. Our soft spot: art and money.”

What is even more extraordinary is the fact that Mark used magic markers and pens and Walmart frames, raw materials which professional forgers wouldn’t dare use. Landis was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 17 and perhaps forging priceless works of art helped him manage his mental illness by giving him a sense of purpose.

[Image Credit | Sam Cullman/Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories]