A fake Norval Morrisseau artwork seized by police. (Courtesy OPP)
David Voss has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in creating and selling thousands of fake Norval Morrisseau paintings.
Voss had pled guilty in June to two charges, for acting as one of the key players in the fraud, considered to be one of the biggest art fraud investigations in the world.
“An agreed statement of facts filed with the court said the Thunder Bay, Ont., man oversaw the fraud scheme from 1996 until the mid-2010s,” according to a story in the Globe and Mail today.
“Justice Bonnie Warkentin said in her sentencing decision today that the crimes caused profound harm, including irrevocable damage to Morrisseau’s legacy.”
Morrisseau died in 2007. From the Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation in Northern Ontario, he influenced numerous other Indigenous artists and was sometimes called the “Picasso of the North,” for his bold lines and bright colours. His work has been shown in galleries across Canada and the United States, including the National Gallery of Canada and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ont.
Forgery allegations about Morrisseau's work go back decades. Thunder Bay Police first investigated alleged fakes in 2000. The 2019 documentary, There Are No Fakes traced the provenance of a supposed Morrisseau painting, Spirit Energy of Mother Earth, which was bought by Barenaked Ladies guitarist Kevin Hearn in 2005.
Source: Globe and Mail, CBC
Also see: Morrisseau Art Fraud Ringleader Pleads Guilty
Ontario Provincial Police Arrest Eight in Norval Morrisseau Art Fraud Ring
