Directed by Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker • Documentary • With Mark A. Landis • 2014 • 90 minutes
Mark Landis has been called one of the most prolific art forgers in US history. His impressive body of work spans thirty years, covering a wide range of painting styles and periods that includes 15th Century Icons, Picasso, and even Walt Disney. And while the copies could fetch impressive sums on the open market, Landis isn't in it for money. Posing as a philanthropic donor, a grieving executor of a family member’s will, and most recently as a Jesuit priest, Landis has given away hundreds of works over the years to a staggering list of institutions across the United States. But after duping Matthew Leininger, a tenacious registrar who ultimately discovers the decades-long ruse and sets out to expose his philanthropic escapades to the art world, Landis must confront his own legacy and a chorus of museum professionals clamoring for him to stop.
ART AND CRAFT starts out as a cat-and-mouse art caper, rooted in questions of authorship and authenticity – but what emerges is an intimate story of obsession and the universal need for community, appreciation, and purpose.
Up Next in Museums, Collectors and the Art Market
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Freeports - The Beauty of Tax Free St...
Directed by Martin Gronemeyer • Documentary • 2021 • 52 minutes
There is a global network of tax-free storage facilities for valuable goods, catering to the super rich – and it's virtually unknown, until now. Freeports feature the highest security levels and confidential record keeping. And thro...
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The Hermitage Dwellers
Directed by Aliona van der Horst • Documentary • 2003 • 73 minutes
THE HERMITAGE DWELLERS is as much about the people who work in Russia's renowned museum as it is about the glorious art works housed in this St. Petersburg institution. We meet with several 'Hermitage-niks'-including Olga Bogdano...
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Mona Lisa is Missing
Directed by Joe Medeiros • Documentary • 2013 • 86 minutes
How did an unassuming housepainter from Italy pull off the greatest little known art heist in modern time? Was his motivation more than money?
Writer-director Joe Medeiros traces the path of Vincenzo Peruggia, charged with the 1911 thef...
