Russian Naval Officer Forged and Sold Ernst Neizvestny Sculptures for Years

A Russian naval officer forged sculptures by renowned Soviet sculptor Ernst Neizvestny and sold them for years. The fraud was exposed at an exhibition at Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery. Neizvestny is one of the most celebrated Soviet sculptors, who emigrated to the US in 1977 and never returned.

A Russian naval officer forged works by renowned Soviet sculptor Ernst Neizvestny and sold them for years, until the fraud was exposed at an exhibition at Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery.

Ernst Neizvestny is the most famous sculptor of the Soviet 20th century's second half, whose work was filled with expressivity and symbolism, at times bordering on abstraction. His career gained momentum during the Thaw period, when the strict norms of socialist realism began to recede.

Although the sculptor suffered severely in 1962 when Nikita Khrushchev publicly attacked the Manege exhibition — Neizvestny was expelled from the Union of Artists and lost his studio space — he remained a prominent figure in Soviet art. Paradoxically, it was Neizvestny himself who later created Khrushchev's memorial at Novodevichy Cemetery. This became one of his last works in the Soviet Union, as in 1977 the sculptor emigrated to the US and never returned.

The extent of the forgeries and the precise circumstances of their discovery at the Tretyakov Gallery exhibition are now under investigation. The case raises serious questions about authentication procedures for artworks circulating on the art market.