A central figure in a long-running forgery ring that produced counterfeit paintings attributed to Anishinaabe Canadian artist Norval Morrisseau has been sentenced to five years in prison by a Thunder Bay, Ontario, court.

David John Voss pleaded guilty to forgery and using forged documents in a fraud operation that spanned from 1996 to 2019. Authorities have seized over 1,000 fake artworks out of more than 1,600 created.

Norval Morrisseau, born in 1931, endured the hardships of Canada’s residential school system, which aimed to assimilate Indigenous people. Despite this, he rose to prominence in the 1960s with his vibrant paintings, founding the Woodlands School of Art. Known as Copper Thunderbird, Morrisseau passed away in 2007 at the age of 75.

Superior Court Justice Bonnie Warkentin, in sentencing Voss, stated, “The purpose of creating these fake paintings was economic gain, but in doing so, the legacy of Norval Morrisseau has been irrevocably damaged. His spirituality has been undermined and tarnished, and today, we have one small opportunity to address this wrong.”

Investigators have labeled this as Canada’s largest-ever art fraud investigation. However, Justice Warkentin emphasized that it was more than just art fraud, calling it “an appropriation of a cultural and spiritual identity of one of Canada’s most loved and valued artists.”

Voss orchestrated an assembly-line process, marking areas on sheets of paper to be filled in with specific colors, akin to a paint-by-numbers method. Last year, eight people were charged in connection with the forgery ring. Among them was Morrisseau’s nephew, Benjamin Morrisseau, who created some of the forgeries and agreed to participate in reparation measures after consulting with elders. Gary Lamont, another key figure, also received a five-year prison sentence.

Several impact statements were read in court. Art collector Kevin Hearn, a member of the Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies, shared via Zoom that he had purchased a fake painting for $20,000, believing he was fortunate to acquire it. “I was anything but lucky to buy it,” he remarked.

Cory Dingle, executive director of Morrisseau’s estate, estimates the estate faces at least $100 million in losses. He has urged Voss to help locate the fake works he produced, describing the forgeries as having an “unimaginable impact.”

“The emotional anguish endured by Norval, confined to a wheelchair with Parkinson’s disease, witnessing the theft of his legacy and the perversion of his cultural teaching is a tragedy beyond words,” Dingle said. He believes this crime to be not only Canada’s largest-ever forgery case but also the “largest cultural appropriation event in modern history.”

The forgeries have significantly distorted art history and the interpretation of Morrisseau’s culture. “This crime perpetrated by a non-Indigenous individual has not only stolen the cultural and artistic identity of Indigenous communities,” Dingle added, “but also has perverted the legends and stories of the peoples.”
 

Sayart / Sims green sims010@naver.com