William Benton Museum of Art’s FRAUD & COVERUP, The Top Ten Facts that Support that Conclusion

Updated: January 22, 2011

NOTE: All footnotes are enclosed with { }.


















Auguste Rodin, The Thinker, modeled in 1880, reduced in 1903. Cast number and date of cast unknown. Bronze. Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation; promised gift to the North Carolina Museum of Art
http://www.thebenton.org/exb_past.php?inc=1


For additional documentation on this fraud, click on: Rodin A Magnificent Obsession FRAUD, the Iris & B....

The Rodin, A Magnificent Obsession, Sculptures from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation exhibition that opened on September 8, 2007 at the William Benton Museum of Art on the University of Connecticut campus, is a -fraud-.{1} At least fifty-four or the sixty-three (86 percent) so-called “sculptures,” attributed to Auguste Rodin in this exhibition, are actually non-disclosed -fakes-, that were posthumously forged, after Auguste Rodin’s death in 1917 between 1919 and 1995 with counterfeit “Rodin” and “A Rodin” signatures applied.

By definition, rule of law and laws of nature, the dead don’t sculpt.

This monograph documents the William Benton Museum of Art’s attempt to -coverup- this -fraud- when they altered their original August 16, 2007 “Rodin Sculptures Arrive at the Benton Museum” pressroom release posted on their www.thebenton.org/info_press.php website, sometime after this scholar’s published August 23, 2007 “Dead Men Don’t Sculpt, 54 Fake Rodins at the Benton Museum of Art” news release.

On August 23, 2007 at 1:44PM in the afternoon, one hour and twenty minutes after receiving by email that news release, the Benton Museum of Art’s director Steven Kern emailed, to this scholar, the following reply: “Thank you very much for your informative message.” Sometime thereafter, began the -coverup-.






















August 16, 2007
"Rodin Sculptures Arrive at the Benton Museum"
www.thebenton.org/info_press.php
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
























August 16, 2007 "Rodin Sculptures Arrive at the Benton Museum" (Altered sometime between August 23, 2007 and August 31, 2007.)
www.thebenton. org/info_press.php
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

First, in the Benton Museum of Art’s altered and false dated “pressroom” release, one of the added passages states: “All the works in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection and the Cantor Foundation are original Rodins. The term original is in accordance with College Art Association definition and U.S. Customs law.”

What does U.S. Customs actually state in writing?














U.S. CUSTOMS

On page 9 of a PDF copy of the U.S. Customs’ May 2006 Informed Compliance publication titled: “Works of Art, Collector’s Pieces, Antiques, and Other Cultural Property,” under the subtitle “Original Sculptures and Statuary, in Any Material,” it states: “Heading 9703 covers ancient and modern original sculptures and statuary in any material.” On page 10 of this publication, it states: “The heading therefore covers not only the original models made by the sculptor but also copies and reproductions of those models made by the second process described above, whether these are made by the sculptor himself or by another artist.”

REPRODUCTIONS MADE FROM A SCULPTOR’S ORIGINAL WORK OF MODEL

Additionally, on page 12, it states: “Heading 9703 covers not only original sculpture made by the sculptor, but also the first 12 castings, replicas or reproductions made from a sculptor’s original work of model, by the sculptor himself or by another artist, with or without a change in scale and whether or not the sculptor is alive at the time the castings, replicas or reproductions are completed.”

Furthermore, on page 12, U.S. Customs states: “The term ‘original has been judicially defined as original in design, conception and execution, as distinguished from the works of skilled craftsmen that are representative of the decorative or industrial arts.”

In other words, whether Auguste Rodin or any sculptor is alive or not, “the first 12 castings, replicas or reproductions made from a sculptor’s original work of model,” under these U.S. Customs regulations, would be considered “original.”

Second, there is one gaping hole in the William Benton Museum of Art’s written contentions. The Musee Rodin admits they do not reproduce directly from Auguste Rodin’s “original work of model” as required under U.S. Customs.

NOT FROM RODIN’S ORIGINAL PLASTERS

This is confirmed by the Musee Rodin curator Antoinette Le Nomaid-Romain on the museum’s www.musee-rodin.fr website, where the curator wrote: “Consequently, whenever it is decided to release a new ‘subject,’ a copy is first made from the old mould which can be sent without risk to the foundry where it undergoes the necessary preparations for casting. It is coated with an unmoulding agent, usually in a dark colour, and cut, before being cast again. This practice not only ensures absolute fidelity to the original but also preserves the old plasters which are obviously more valuable since they were made during the lifetime of Rodin.”{2}

This Musee Rodin’s admission impeaches any contentions that their posthumous second-generation-removed so-called -Rodins- can, under U.S. Customs, be considered “originals.”

Third, in the Benton Museum of Art’s altered and false dated “pressroom” release, the following added passage states: “others made after he died according to Rodin’s wishes and authorization.”

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Despite Auguste Rodin’s 1916 Will giving the State of France, upon his death, “the reproduction rights of those objects given by him”{3}, as documented earlier, the Musee Rodin admits on their website that they do not reproduce in bronze from “those objects given by him?"

By definition, a reproduction{4} is a copy of any original, not a copy of a copy.

Therefore, in violation of Auguste Rodin’s 1916 Will, the Musee Rodin reproduces second-generation-removed bronzes that are “something that is not what it purports to be”{5} which is one legal definition of -fake-.

Fourth, as just documented, under U.S. Customs regulations “the first 12 castings, replicas or reproductions made from a sculptor’s original work of model,” are considered “original.”

As noted above, on page 121 of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s published 1976 Sculpture of Auguste Rodin{6} catalogue by John Tancock, there are eighteen 79 inch high -Thinkers- listed with the Cantor Fitzgerald Art Foundation’s listed as: “10/12” ie., number ten in the edition of twelve.

Six of those eighteen “Thinkers” listed above have dates given between “1906” and “1922.”

On the www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/rbrz.html website, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation states: “In 1956 French law limited production to twelve casts of each model.”

THE SIXTEENTH THINKER

So, if one adds those six prior reproductions of the -Thinker- reproduced before 1922 with the subsequent twelve reproduced since 1956, the Cantor Foundation’s numbered “10/12” “Thinker” would make theirs, at least, number -SIXTEEN-.

That is well outside the U.S. Customs’ requirements of the first twelve to be considered “original.”

[Detail] "Figure 19 [catalogue no. 20], Auguste Rodin, France, 1840-1917, Jules Dalou, 1883, cast in 1925, Bronze, 20 3/4 x 16 x 7 in., (52.7 x 40.6 x 17.7 cm), Inscribed on proper left shoulder fron and on stamp inside: A Rodin, Foundry mark on rear proper right shoulder: ALEXIS RUDIER Fondeur. Paris, Bequest of Jules E. Mastbaum; Rodin Museum, Philadelphia”
p. 54-55, Ruth Butler, Jeanine Parisier Plottel & Jane Mayo Roos' 1998 Rodin’s Monument to Victor Hugo
COUNTERFEIT -A RODIN- INSCRIPTION








[Detail], Damned Woman, 1885-1911, cast 1979, (Femmes damnees), Bronze, 7 7/8 x 11 1/4 x 5 5/8, (2.0 x 28.6 x 14.3), Signature: Rodin No. 7, Inscription: © by Musee Rodin 1979, Fonderie de Coubertin, Number of cast edition 7/12, 86.87, Gift of the B. Gerald Cantor Art Foundation“
Lynne Ambersini and Michelle Facos' 1987 Rodin, The Cantor Gift to The Brooklyn Museum
COUNTERFEIT -A RODIN- INSCRIPTION

Fifth, the Musee Rodin counterfeits either an “A Rodin” or “Rodin” signature to their second-generation-removed -fakes- they posthumously reproduce in bronze. This is confirmed in Tasende Gallery’s published 1999 Sculptures from the Musee Rodin, Paris catalogue. On page 47, it states: “All work cast under commission by the Musee Rodin includes the following mandatory inscriptions - Rodin’s signature.”

The above “A Rodin” and “Rodin” inscriptions respectfully to the “Jules Dalou”{7} in 1925 and the “Damned Woman”{8} in 1979 clearly exposes the Musee Rodin’s capacity for fraud.

STAMPED WITH THE ARTIST’S SIGNATURE

The former Musee Rodin curator Monique Laurent documents on page 22 of her 1991 RODIN{9} catalogue that during Auguste Rodin’s lifetime, Auguste Rodin supplied a sample of his signature to the foundries for them to copy and stamp onto the bronzes they cast for him.

WHAT IS A SIGNATURE?

On page 1386, in the Seventh Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary, -signature- is defined as: “a person’s name or mark written by that person or at the person’s direction.”

WHAT IS COUNTERFEIT?

On page 354 in the Seventh Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary, -counterfeit- is defined as: “to forge, copy, or imitate (something) without a right to do so and with the purpose of deceiving or defrauding.”

In other words, would the posthumous application of a counterfeit "Rodin’s signature” to posthumously reproduced objects, much less second-generation-removed -fakes-, be done with “the purpose of deceiving or defrauding?”

Sixth, in the Benton Museum of Art’s altered and false dated “pressroom” release, one of the added passages states: “some of the sculpture in Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession were cast during the artist’s lifetime and others were made after he died.

86% MADE POSTHUMOUSLY

Those so-called “others [that] were made after he died” happen to be fifty-four of the sixty-three so-called “sculpture” in this exhibition or -86 percent-. When is the last time you went to a museum and only 14 percent of the work, attributed to an artist, was actually made when they were alive?

Seventh, in the Benton Museum of Art’s altered and false dated “pressroom” release, one of the added passages states: “According to a 1956 French law, each work can be cast twelve times; each cast being an original.”

There is no such French law that states posthumous reproductions are “original.”

Where did the William Benton Museum of Art ever get this nonsense that reproductions are “original?”

FRENCH DECREE - ORIGINAL EDITIONS IN BRONZE

This is in all probability answered by a French decree titled: “Article 1 of a joint decree by the Ministries of Culture and Finance, issued on 5 September 1978,” which regulates the internal administration of the Musee Rodin. In part, it states: “The reproduction of works of Rodin and the editions sold by the Musee Rodin consists of; -Original editions in bronze. These are executed from models in terra cotta or in plaster realized by Rodin.”{10}

In other words, this 1978 French decree, the term -original- is used as an adjective to describe and separate the Musee Rodin’s posthumous “editions” of reproductions in bronze of Auguste Rodin’s terracotta or plasters from others who legally may posthumously reproduce in bronze any of Auguste Rodin’s work that is in the public domain.

Eighth, in the Benton Museum of Art’s altered and false dated “pressroom” release, once again this same added passages states: “According to French law.”

There are quite a few in the museum and academic industry{11} who will defend and have defended the misrepresentation of reproductions, much less posthumous reproductions, as “works of visual art” ie., “sculptures” by making blanket statements that these reproduced objects are originals in exhibits in American museums because they adhere to current “French Law” or that nineteenth-century standards are applicable.

Well, Connecticut, much less America, is not a French province and this is the twentieth-first century.

Ninth, in the Benton Museum of Art’s altered and false dated “pressroom” release, the following added passage states: “continuing casting of Rodin’s bronzes reflects the artist’s intentions and embraces his wishes, all in accordance with French and international law.

Since, the Musee Rodin admits they do not reproduce in bronze from Auguste Rodin’s originals, as documented earlier, what French decree’s would be applicable?

FRENCH DECREE - FULL DISCLOSURE OF REPRODUCTIONS

The March 3, 1981 French decree no. 81.255, Article 9, in part, states: “All facsimiles, casts of casts, copies, or other reproductions of an original work of art as set out in Article 71 of Appendix III of the General Code of Taxes, executed after the date of effectiveness of the present decree, must carry in a visible and indelible manner the notation ‘Reproduction’.”{12}

U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW - WHAT IS A REPRODUCTION?

Additionally, under U.S. Copyright Law 101. Definitions, a “derivative work” is defined as: “a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as [an] art reproduction.” Furthermore, under U.S. Copyright 106A, it states the “Rights of Attribution - shall not apply to any reproduction.”

In other words, under U.S. Copyright Law, reproductions cannot be -attributed- to a living artist, much less a dead one.

So, whether it is U.S. Copyright Law or a French decree, reproductions are -reproductions-.

Tenth, in the Benton Museum of Art’s altered and false dated “pressroom” release, the following added passage states: “Works cast after 1958 are subject to a specific numbering system. The first eight of the twelve casts have been available for public purchase and are numbered 1/8 to 8/8, respectively. The last four, numbered I/IV to IV/IV, respectively, are reserved for cultural institutions.”

Yet, on pages 175-190 of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation’s published 2001 Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue, the following twenty-one so-called Auguste Rodin “Works” in their collection are listed as: 1) “The Gates of Hell and Maquette, - Musee Rodin cast II/IV,” 2) “Gates of Hell, 3rd Maquette, - Musee Rodin cast IV/IV,” 3) “Head of a Shade, - Musee Rodin cast II/IV,” 4) “Fallen Caryatid with Stone, - Musee Rodin cast II/IV,” 5) “The Three Shades, - Musee Rodin cast II/IV,” 6) “Small Torso of Falling Man, - Musee Rodin cast II/IV,” 7) “The Creator, - Musee Rodin cast II/IV,” 8) “Eustache de Saint-Pierre, Vetu, - Musee Rodin cast III/IV,” 9) “Final Head of Eustache de Saint-Pierre, - Musee Rodin II/IV,” 10) “Bust of Young Balzac, - Musee Rodin cast II/IV,” 11) “Bust of St. John the Baptist, - Musee Rodin cast II/IV,” 12) “Monumental Head of St. John, - Musee Rodin cast II/IV,” 13) “Monumental Head of St. John the Baptist, - Musee Rodin III/IV,” 14) “Claude Lorrain, - Musee Rodin cast III/IV,” 15) “The Night (Double Figure), - Musee Rodin cast I/IV,” 16) “Sphinx on a Column, - Musee Rodin cast III/IV,” 17) “Ecclesiastes, - Musee Rodin cast II/IV,” 18) “Whistler’s Muse, - Musee Rodin cast IV/IV,” 19) “Torso of Centauresse, - Musee Rodin cast II/IV,” 20) “Small Head of Jean de Fiennes with Hand, - Musee Rodin cast III/IV” and 21) “Sorrow, - Musee Rodin cast III/IV.”

The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation is not a cultural institution.

CONCLUSION

On August 16, 2007, on their www.thebenton.or/info_press.html website under the subtitle “pressroom,” the William Benton Museum of Art posted their “Rodin Sculpture Arrive at the Benton Museum” release.

On August 23, 2007, this scholar emailed the museum director and his staff a 22 page news release titled: “Dead Men Don’t Sculpt, 54 Rodin Fakes at the Benton Museum of Art.”

Sometime between August 23 and August 31, 2007, the museum added four additional paragraphs to their original August 16, 2007 release without written disclosure by date or disclaimer that it had been altered.

This was not for typos or grammatical corrections but a blatant attempt by the William Benton Museum of Art to rewrite history by postdating arguments they never published in their original August 16, 2007 “pressroom” release.

FACULTY CODE OF CONDUCT

The University of Connecticut’s Code of Conduct for Employees and Faculty, author by Rachel Rubin, went into effect on April 11, 2006. In part, it states: The University of Connecticut is committed to assuring the highest standard of integrity in all aspects of University life and in all University and University-sponsored activities.”{13}

“This Code serves to guide the conduct of University activities in support of the University's mission and is designed to serve three key purposes: 1. To set the basic standards of workplace behavior that the University expects of all faculty, administrators and staff, 2. To state publicly the University's long-term commitment to the highest standards of integrity in education, research, health care and service and 3. To assure that faculty, administrators and staff understand their shared responsibility for keeping the University in full compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and policies.”{14}

How can the University of Connecticut have “the highest standards of integrity in education,” if its’ own museum deceptively alters it’s “pressroom” releases and posts them with false dates, not to mention the underline -fraud- with the museum’s so-called “Rodin” exhibition?

FOOTNOTES:

1. page 670 of the Seventh Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary, -fraud- is defined as: “A knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment.”.

2. To find this Musee Rodin quote:
First go the www.musee-rodin.fr/welcome.htm website,
then under “Contents” on the left column click on “Collections,”
once on new screen clikc on the “Meudon” button,
then scoll down new screen till you reach the photograph of
“Assemblage of two figures of Eve and Couching Woman”
and then count fourteen lines down for the quote.

3. page 285 in the former Musee Rodin curator Monique Laurent’s “Observations on Rodin and His Founders” essay, published in the National Gallery of Art’s published 1981 Rodin Rediscovered catalogue. In part, as noted above, the former Musee Rodin curator Monique Laurent documents that the Auguste Rodin’s Will stated: “notwithstanding the transfer of artistic ownership authorized to the State of M. Rodin, the latter expressly reserves for himself the enjoyment during his life, of the reproduction rights of those objects given by him.”

4. page 350 in Ralph Mayer’s Dictionary of Art Terms & Techniques, -reproduction- is defined as: “a general term for copy, likeness, or counterpart of an original work of art or of a photograph, done in the same medium as the original or in another, and done by someone other than the creator of the original.”

5. page 617 of the Seventh Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary, the -fake- is defined as: “Something that is not what it purports to be.

6. 1976 Sculpture of Auguste Rodin by John Tancock, ISBN 0-87923-157-2

7. page 54, Rodin’s Monument to Victor Hugo by Ruth Butler, Jeanine Parisier Plottel and Jane Mayo Roos ISBN 1 85894 070 2

8. page 90-91, Rodin, The Cantor Gift to The Brooklyn Museum by Lynne Ambrosini and Michelle Facos ISBN 0-87372-111-1

9. Copyright © 1988 by Ste Nlle des Editions du Chene ISBN 0-8050-1252-4

10. page 281, Jean Chatelain’s “Original in Sculpture,” 1981 Rodin Rediscovered, ISBN 0-89468-001-3 (pbk)

11. In a April 2, 2004 Buffalo News “Letter to Editor” posted on their www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20040402/ 1020607.asp website the Albright_Knox Art Gallery’s Curator of Modern Art Kenneth Wayne, in part, wrote “All works in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation Collection are unquestionably original Rodins, cast in bronze from the artist’s sculpted clay and plaster models. The bronze casts on view were created either during Rodin’s lifetime by his own hired craftsmen, or after his death.”
In a Globe and Mail’s published June 24, 2005 “Rodin’s cast of hundreds” article by Danelle Egan, Vancouver Art Gallery curator Ian Thom did admit that “the hand of Rodin did not touch these sculptures.” However, he added, “that’s not unusual because 19th-century sculptors hired technicians to finish the sculptures.”

12. page 281, Jean Chatelain’s “Original in Sculpture,” 1981 Rodin Rediscovered, ISBN 0-89468-001-3 (pbk)

13. policy.uconn.edu/pages/findPolicy.cfm?PolicyID=379

14. Ibid

PHOTOGRAPHS:
1. www.thebenton.org/exb_current.html#1
2. U.S. Customs Informed Compliance Publication