Publisher

Publication Year

Author(s)

ISBN: 9781773102542

Categories: , , ,

Tag:

 
View more details about this title
on the publisher's website:

The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case

The Group of Seven & Tom Thomson Forgeries

New!

In May 2016, Jon S. Dellandrea came into possession of a box of the last effects of an obscure artist, William Firth MacGregor. The contents of the box chronicled a major, and long forgotten, trial involving forgeries of the art of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven.

The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case takes readers back to 1962, a time when forgeries were turning up on gallery walls, in auction houses, and (unwittingly) being hung in the homes of luminaries across Canada. Inspector James Erskine, enlisting the help of A.J. Casson, the youngest living member of the Group of Seven, set out to discover where the forgeries were coming from. Fifty years later, Dellandrea follows Erskine’s hunt to the end, uncovering the masterminds behind the forgeries.

Lavishly illustrated with reproductions and archival images, The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case unravels the mystery of the greatest art fraud trial in Canadian history. Along the way, it also tells the story of a talented artist whose career might have been so very different.

Contributors

John S. Dellandrea

Jon S. Dellandrea is a senior fellow at Massey College, chair emeritus of the Art Canada Institute, and a Member of the Order of Canada. Dellandrea was born in northern Ontario and holds degrees from the Universities of Toronto and Oxford. He has worked as Vice-President and Chief Advancement Officer at the University of Toronto, as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Development and External Affairs) at Oxford University, Chancellor of Nipissing University, and as President and CEO of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Foundation.
Chapter Title Contents Contributors Pages Year Price

Preview

Introduction by the author and a list people involved throughout the book. 15 $1.50

Preview

The author details the start of his research by finding a box with papers, notebooks, poems, and essay once belonging to one of the main subjects and artists of the book, William Firth MacGregor. 14 $1.40

Preview

In 1962 the Canadian art market is flooded with forgeries of Group of Seven paintings available at auction causing concern from police, art critics and the public. 14 $1.40

Preview

James Erskine begins to investigate and collect evidence into art forgeries being sold, discovering that art collectors were fraudulently selling an artists work as paintings from the Group of Seven. 14 $1.40

Preview

The details of William Firth MacGregor’s early life and career. 10 $1.00

Preview

This chapter discuses the decline of William Firth MacGregor’s career and his hiatus between 1950-1960 10 $1.00

Preview

This chapter covers the first day of the inquiry of Leslie W. Lewis and Neil Sharkey’s fraud. Included in this chapter is witness testimony and further evidence, Leslie W. Lewis and Neil … 18 $1.80

Preview

In this chapter the Group of Seven member, A.Y. Jackson, testifies during the trial. 8 $0.80

Preview

This chapter details the second day of the inquiry and the collection of Gordon Chambers, a key collection of evidence. 18 $1.80

Preview

This chapter discusses the third day of the trail as experts, Group of Seven members, and other witnesses called to testify. 12 $1.20

Preview

In this chapter the inquiry concludes with the testimony of William MacGregor and his unintentional involvement in the fraudulent Group of Seven paintings being sold. 10 $1.00

Preview

The author discusses his research on the whereabouts of the fake paintings as well as his research and conversations with key figures in the case who are still alive. 16 $1.60

Preview

The author concludes the art fraud case that took place in 1962-1964. The lasting impacts of this high profile case on the secondary Canadian art market is also discussed. 3 $0.30