Art Fraud in the News

**Henry Whalley** · September-05-24, 02:34 PM

Feds reveal scope of art crime caper involving Birmingham art gallery [[archive.ph)

As a white-collar criminal, the justice system prolly will give Wendy Halsted Beard a ritual rap on her Caucasian wrist. No big deal but she's prolly peeing in her artsy pants right now.

Confidence Men and Painted Women: A Study of Middle-class Culture in America, 1830-1870 [[Yale Historical Publications, Miscellany): Halttunen, Karen: 9780300037883: Amazon.com: Books

**CassTechGrad** · September-06-24, 09:47 AM

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**Henry Whalley** · September-08-24, 02:16 PM

That's how young Benjamin Franklin got his start.

**Jimaz** · September-08-24, 03:04 PM

When I hear of art fraud I think of digital art NFTs. I haven't heard that much about them lately. Is that still a thing?

"... by September 2023, one report claimed that over 95% of NFT collections had zero monetary value."

Capitalism is a cult.

**Henry Whalley** · September-08-24, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

...Capitalism is a cult.

And the 'art world' is a prosperity religion.

A Fool and Her Money is its proverb.

**Henry Whalley** · September-08-24, 05:42 PM

Lost Andy Warhol Digital Works Are Being Sold for $26 Million [[yahoo.com)

**Lowell** · September-08-24, 08:54 PM

This story is so disappointing. I knew Tom Halstead, the father, whose gallery was next to the gallery that represented my art in Birmingham. He built an amazing international reputation that his daughter destroyed in almost a blink of an eye.

One of the victims is my good friend, Bill Schwab who is quoted in the article, who collaborated with Halstead, built his website and photographed the daughter's wedding. He is heartbroken, particularly for the destroyed reputation of his mentor and friend.

**Kathleen** · September-09-24, 08:03 AM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

When I hear of art fraud I think of digital art NFTs. I haven't heard that much about them lately. Is that still a thing?

"... by September 2023, one report claimed that over 95% of NFT collections had zero monetary value."

Capitalism is a cult.

When I recently heard author, art historian, and founder of the Association for Research into Crimes against Art Noah Charney speak on the subject of art theft, I asked him about NFTs in that context and he said it is a real issue.

In 2023, he co-authored a book The NFT Book: Everything You Need to Know about the Art and Collecting of Non-Fungible Tokens.
https://www.amazon.com/NFT-Book-Ever.../dp/1538174758

**stasu1213** · September-09-24, 09:10 AM

The only art scam I see is the guy on Woodward asking for donations for the art but only having a tall plastic bottle with him for money

**Jimaz** · September-09-24, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by Kathleen

When I recently heard author, art historian, and founder of the Association for Research into Crimes against Art Noah Charney speak on the subject of art theft, I asked him about NFTs in that context and he said it is a real issue.

In 2023, he co-authored a book The NFT Book: Everything You Need to Know about the Art and Collecting of Non-Fungible Tokens.
https://www.amazon.com/NFT-Book-Ever.../dp/1538174758

Thanks!

Association for Research into Crimes against Art

I see they're interested in cultural appropriation cases too.

**CassTechGrad** · September-09-24, 11:04 AM

I always picture the “starving artist” and the “Beatniks” like Andy Warhol, Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Maynard G. Krebs who rejected middle-class American values, customs, and tastes in favor of radical politics and jazz , art, and literature. No connection with capitalism or religion in this bunch.

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**Henry Whalley** · September-09-24, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by Lowell

...He built an amazing international reputation that his daughter destroyed in almost a blink of an eye.

Sad.

**Henry Whalley** · September-10-24, 09:46 PM

Art DISASTER | Bean Movie
Funny Clips | Mr. Bean Official
https://youtu.be/QTli1HU9axY?t=1

Speaking of Crimes against Art, this Mr. Bean comedy reminds me of how the DIA ruined the old magical ambiance of Kresge Court and replaced it with the present Mr. Belvedere-style food court, except the updates were tragic not comic.

This crime never was investigated.

**13606Cedargrove** · September-10-24, 11:29 PM

After 13 posts an important question has not been answered:

Who is Art Fraud?

**Honky Tonk** · September-11-24, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by 13606Cedargrove

After 13 posts an important question has not been answered:

Who is Art Fraud?

Didn't he own a furniture business?

**Henry Whalley** · September-11-24, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Didn't he own a furniture business?

Scott Shuptrine's Attic shows the draft concept for the deconstructed Kresge Court. Decor – Scott Shuptrine

**Lowell** · September-14-24, 10:33 AM

Judgment Day arrives.

"Former Birmingham art dealer Wendy Halsted Beard bilked more than 40 people, many of them elderly, for years, defrauding them of millions of dollars in fine art photographs, federal prosecutors say.

"Now, Beard, 59, is to spend more than five years in federal prison and pay more than $2 million in restitution in the scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit.

“Beard took her father's once prosperous and highly regarded photography gallery and demolished it from within, leaving behind what amounted to little more than a Ponzi scheme and wreaking financial havoc along the way,” prosecutors wrote in court papers ahead of Beard's sentencing Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Ann Arbor."