Lecture on art crime

Talk

"Art Criminals and the art of fraud"
Wednesday, 15 April 2015

by Vernon Rapley
Security Director at the Victoria and Albert Museum,

Robing Room at Freemason's Hall
60 Great Queen Street
London WC2B 5AZ

Freemasons Hall is close to both Covent Garden and Holborn Tube
Stations.

Doors open at 6pm.
Talk 6.30 - 8pm

Vernon has over the course of his career investigated with Shaun
Greenhalgh, the most diverse forger he dealt with forging Egyptian
sculpture, Lowry pastels, Hepworth terracottas, Roman silver and
much more, Robert Thwaites, who forged works by John Anster
Fitzgerald, John Andrews who created and sold Egyptian antiquities
on the internet, Ashley Russell, who forged and faked hundreds of
pieces of Georgian Silver, Jonathan Reyfern who forged the work of
Tracey Emin and William Mumford who forged hundreds of paintings,
many in the style of Indian Progressive movement artists. He will
provide a detectives perspective on art and cultural heritage crime.
He will draw on his personal experience of investigating art
criminals around the world to provide a snapshot of the "real" world
of art crime, often distinct from public perception.  He will then
focus in on the methods and motives of art forgers and fakers,
exploring the diversity of their trade and the complexity of task of
detecting and imprisoning them.

Vernon Rapley is the Security Director at the Victoria and Albert
Museum, the 'Worlds leading museum of art and design'. He is also;
the founder and chairman of the National Museum Security Group, the
UK lead for Tourism on the Cross-sector Security and Safety
Communications Group and a member of the ACPO (Association of Chief
Police Officers) Heritage and Cultural Property Crime Working Group.

Before joining the V&A in 2010, he served as a police officer for 24
years, the last 10 years as the head of the Art and Antiques Unit at
New Scotland Yard. During that time he overtly and covertly
investigated all manner of art and cultural property crime. He
formed a number of long lasting community partnerships, including
the creation of ArtBEAT, a unique use of expert volunteers, drawn
from the art community to assist the police.  Towards the end of his
police career he organised two exhibitions of Fakes and Forgeries,
the last one in early 2010 attracted 30,000 visitors in just 3
weeks.

Tickets:

    ICON members    UKP10
    Non-members     UKP15
    Students        UKP5
    (student card required to be shown on the door) plus booking fee

    Free wine and cheese included in price of ticket.

Please apply for tickets through Eventbrite.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:38
                   Distributed: Monday, March 9, 2015
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