For the last seventy years, the painting
Head of a Man has hung in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and been attributed to Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890). The work was originally brought to Australia in 1939 as part of a collection of modern art for an exhibition by Kenneth Murdock, father of media tycoon, Rupert. The Gallery bought the painting, attributed to Van Gogh for $3,500 when WWII made it impossible to ship it out of the country.
Head of a Man was part of an exhibit that traveled to Edinburgh, Scottland last year when its authenticity was challenged. Australian Gallery officials had it sent to the Van Gogh Museum, where it underwent twelve months of testing. Museum experts agreed that the painting was not by Van Gogh.
Gerald Vaughan, director of Australia's National Gallery of Victoria stressed that the painting was a misattribution, and NOT a
forgery, saying, "There is no evidence to suggest that someone produced this picture . . . to pass it off as a work by Van Gogh." Rather, it seems more likely that the painting was done by a contemporary of Van Gogh's. Last week,
Head of a Man had a value of $21 million. This week?
REFERENCE:
The Columbus Dispatch
