Orphan Paintings:

Unauthenticated Art of the Russian Avant-Garde

The works in Orphan Paintings: Unauthenticated Art of the Russian Avant-Garde were considered by museum professionals to be “unauthenticated,” a term used to describe works of art whose origins can not be determined with certainty.

The story behind the exhibition began in 2004, when architectural photographer Ron Pollard believed he had discovered a trove of Russian avant-garde masterpieces owned by a mid-level insurance administrator in Aachen, Germany. The owner told him the works were discovered in an unclaimed shipping container in German customs. Pollard partnered with his brother and a friend to purchase them and began an amateur research effort to have them authenticated.

A Denver art appraiser valued a portion of the collection at over $50 million but a New York auction house turned them away. A certified handwriting forensic expert in Phoenix examined the handwriting on the back of one key work painted in the style of Russian master Kasimir Malevich. She concluded there was a high probability that the writing on the painting matched known texts by the artist. However, a scientist in Chicago conducted an analysis of the paint and indicated that the work could not have originated during the artist’s lifetime. Then, other scientists cast doubt on that conclusion. For six years, Pollard and his partners were alternately encouraged and discouraged by the opinions of experts.

Despite the conflicting evidence and the lack of any trail of ownership, Pollard and his partners continued to believe that the works were from the period. They purchased more of them from Aachen even as their hopes for having them authenticated dwindled.

MCA Denver exhibited this collection because the uncertainty around them raises crucial questions about the meaning of art. What precisely are we appreciating when we look at a work of art? Are we appreciating what is visible to us, or is it a range of invisible factors, such as the belief that it was made by a master artist or the opinion of experts about its authenticity? This collection of unauthenticated Russian avant-garde paintings asks: can an art experience be authentic even if the status of the work of art remains questionable? Are there other forms of authenticity aside from its attribution to an artist?