Who says art isn't exciting? While people tend to indulge in the arts for their relaxing and thought-provoking nature, there is a lot of chaos that happens behind the scenes. From artists protesting the sale of their own art to celebrities importing delicate artifacts, here are some of the biggest scandals to hit the art world.
On May 30, climate change activist and artist Luke Sundberg took a trip to the Louvre in Paris and pied the famous "Mona Lisa" painting. The pie-er posed as a disabled woman to try and get near the portrait. When Sundberg reached the painting, he stripped the disguise and smeared pie cream on the glass frame before security dragged him away. Despite his efforts, the "Mona Lisa" was left intact.
In 2016, Kim Kardashian attempted to unknowingly import an ancient Roman statue to the U.S. after purchasing the piece from the Axel Vervoordt Gallery. According to the U.S. Government, the figure had been smuggled in from Italy, and the import documentation wasn't sufficient. The statue in question was the "Fragment of Myron's Samian Athena." When the piece arrived in Los Angeles, it was detained.
In 2018, Bansky shredded his own painting during an auction in London. The "Girl With Balloon" painting was in the process of being auctioned off when the piece spontaneously "self-destructed." After being sold to the highest bidder for $1.4 million, the image slid through the shredder hidden in its frame, leaving the auction house shocked. Despite never revealing his identity, the British artist took to Instagram to discuss the incident. "Some people think it didn't really shred. It did. Some people think the auction house were in on it, they weren't." The painting has since been renamed "Love is in the Bin" and sold for a much higher price.
Thanks to Netflix, everyone now knows the thrilling tale of how Anna Delvey (or Anna Sorokin) scammed her way to the top. Sorokin posed as a wealthy German heiress and took on the alias Anna Delvey to become one of New York's biggest socialites. One of Sorokin's last schemes involved her securing a large loan to start a members-only art club, the Anna Delvey Foundation. With fake accountants, numerous falsified documents, and a story about inheriting her grandfather's prestigious art collection, the scheme fell through and the socialite was caught and charged for grand larceny.
Prince Charles was loaned 17 artworks to add to his timeless art collection. Amongst the loaned paintings were pieces by Monet and Picasso, or so he thought. The Prince planned to hang the works in Dumfries House, home to the Prince's Foundation. It was later revealed that four of the 17 paintings were imitations by California artist Tony Tetro. The forgeries replicated works by Picasso, Chagall, Dalí, and Monet.
