02/06/97

ATHENS, Ohio -- Thomas Hoving, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and author of the 1996 book False Impressions: The Hunt For Big-Time Art Fakes will speak at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18 in Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium on Ohio University's Athens campus as part of the Kennedy Lecture Series.

Hoving's lecture is based on his book, a fast-moving overview of his experience spotting fakes at major museums and auction houses worldwide.

"In the decade and a half I worked at the Metropolitan, I must have examined 50,000 works in all fields," says Hoving. "Forty percent were either phonies or so hypocritically restored or so misattributed that they were just the same as forgeries. Since then I'm sure that percentage has risen."

Kirkus Reviews described False Impressions as "Juicy tales of intrigue and bravado from a fakebuster' extraordinaire."

"In the present day, what's fake and what's real is all too often blurred. No one seems to care," says Hoving. "Art forgery is a huge business worldwide. Indeed the latter half of the 20th century might be dubbed the "Age of Fakery. ... The fact is that there are so many phonies and doctored pieces around these days that, at times, I almost believe that there are as many bogus works as genuine ones."

Hoving completed undergraduate, master's and Ph.D. degrees in art at Princeton University. A former correspondent and arts editor for the ABC News program "20/20" and former editor-in-chief of Connoisseur magazine, Hoving currently is president of Hoving Associates, a museum and cultural affairs consulting firm.

A question-and-answer session will follow the lecture, which is free and open to the public.

The Kennedy Lecture Series brings nationally recognized speakers to Ohio University who appeal to a cross-section of the community and stimulate thought on major public issues, cultural affairs and scholarly fields.