Here is another one for our Dark Side of the Art World section. Patterson came to America, in the 1960s, penniless and was soon trading artifacts. By the 1980s he was already in hot water — being investigated and charged by the FBI over a fake Mayan fresco. Over the next 30 years he seems to have been in and out of trouble — often accused of illegally importing antiquities or selling fakes. Today, Patterson lives in Germany and was recently ordered to return two Olmec wood carvings to Mexico and fined $40,000.
While there are always two sides to any story, I am always amazed how people who travel on the dark side of the art world are able to stay in business. Anyway, you can read Tom Mashberg’s story in The New York Times and draw your own conclusions.
Leonardo Patterson