Anew exhibition is gracing the walls of the Hillstrom Museum of Art at Gustavus. From Feb 15 to April 18, 2010 works from the art forger Elmyr de Hory and a new display in the campus’ Focus IN/OUT exhibit, will be on display for art enthusiasts.

Director Don Myers of the Hillstrom Museum of Art has worked with the current owner of all the works on display, Mark Forgy, to bring the newest exhibit to the Musuem. Prior to Forgy’s ownership, many of the works were shown other places, such as the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the St. Louis Art Museum. The exhibit is “fascinating because of the nature of the beast,” Myers said in reference to the many stories behind every painting and drawing on display. The artist, de Hory, earned quite the name for himself.

Born in Hungary, de Hory didn’t grow up thinking he would become an art forger, someone who imitates the style of another famous artist. Early on, de Hory studied classic-style paintings in Munich, Germany and later continued his studies in Paris, France. After his schooling, he tried to create original pieces but soon discovered his ability to copy works of art of other famous painters. Selling the forgeries became an easy way for de Hory to make a living during World War II.

The exhibit includes a documentary entititled “Elmyr, the True Picture?” showing de Hory’s career including his first experience with selling a forgery. The documentary recounts how a friend asked to buy one of his sketches, thinking it was an original Picasso. He sold it for 50 pounds.

The exhibit itself contains many works of de Hory’s, the majority being sketches with a few paintings mixed in. Reading the descriptions next to each draw- ing or painting gives visitors a greater understanding of what the artist did and accomplished. One sketch on display, “Potrait of a Girl,” de Hory signed as Henri Matisse. When it was found, it was known that it was a fake, but sold anyway. In 1970, the sketch was donated as a study piece of de Hory’s style. Neighboring this sketch is an original drawing by Matisse, “Woman with Folded Hands,” from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and trying to spot differences between the two pieces has proven a daunting task.

Also on display in the Hillstrom Museum of Art is the oil painting “Dominoes” by Henry Schnakenberg, which was chosen to be part of the Focus IN/OUT program. “Focus IN/OUT has two main goals,” Myers said, “encouraging those who are interested in art and getting others outside of the usual suspects, [in addition to] drawing attention to works the [Hillstrom] owns.”

The Focus IN/OUT program was started six years ago by Myers. “Dominoes” is coupled with a “didactic text” written by Carolyn Pillers Dobler, a professor of mathematics and computer Science at Gustavus. All the pieces featured in Focus IN/ OUT are works that were previously owned and donated by the museum’s namesake, Richard L. Hillstrom. The Focus IN/OUT exhibits have featured a wide variety of Gustavus’ community members ranging from professors of peace studies to Steven Wilkinson, former Gustavus tennis coach. “Dominoes” will be the fifth work featured in the Focus IN/OUT exhibit.

Myers encouraged Gustavus students to take the time to come visit the exhibit. “Education is holistic. Students shouldn’t focus on only being a math or geology major. Disciplines are interconnected in real ways, not artificial, and Gustavus does a good job of fitting the liberal arts ideal.” Myers said

“The Hillstrom Museum is hosting the most significant exhibition of Elmyr de Hory’s art in almost 35 years, and the most comprehensive collection of his work on display in North America ever.” Forgy said.

Forgy will be on campus March 21, 2010 for a lecture on de Hory and the exhibit. The Hillstrom Museum of Art is located on the lower level of the Campus Center and is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekdays and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekends.