Kevin Hearn decides to take the dealer who sold him his painting to court. But this is no ordinary court case. The original dealer dies before the trial. And Kevin, along with his lawyer and witnesses, are stalked and harassed by people who stand to lose a lot of money if Kevin can prove his Morrisseau painting is a fake. Kevin needs to hire a bodyguard as the future of the court case teeters.
Support services (Australia):
- Police — 000 (triple-zero)
- Lifeline on 13 11 14
- Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN on 13 92 76
- MensLine Australia on 1300 789 97
This episode features:
- Gabe Vadas
- Kevin Hearn
- Norval Morrisseau, archival
- Jonathan Sommer, Kevin Hearn's lawyer
- Carmen Robertson
Binge every episode of the art fraud crime podcast series 'Forged' with Adrian Stimson now on the ABC listen app.
More Information
Known as the 'Picasso of the North', Norval Morriseau is one of the most celebrated Indigenous artists in the world. But when a rock star gets a tip about the authenticity of his Morrisseau painting, he finds a sinister underworld with thousands of forged paintings, millions of dollars in profits, multiple fraud rings, and even a suspected murder.
In this six-part series, from CBC in Canada and ABC Australia, host Adrian Stimson, an artist from the Siksika Nation, travels from Thunder Bay to the Northern Territory of Australia, to reveal the largest art crime fraud in the world.
Adrian questions what this story tells us about how Indigenous art, and lives, matter.