Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Hobart, which previously made headlines for banning individuals who “do not identify as ladies” from its “Ladies Lounge” installation, is back in the news for a different controversy.
The museum recently admitted that several artworks it claimed were by Pablo Picasso are actually fakes. These pieces were painted by artist and curator Kirsha Kaechele, the wife of Mona’s wealthy owner, David Walsh.
Mona confessed to The Guardian Australia after suspicions were raised by the newspaper and the Picasso Administration. Kaechele curated the “Ladies Lounge,” which opened in 2020, featuring a female-only audience pampered by performing male butlers and served champagne. Following a court ruling that the exhibition was discriminatory and must admit men, the fake Picassos were relocated to a ladies’ toilet cubicle in the museum. The case was brought by an Australian man who argued that the show violated Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act.
In court, Kaechele defended the exhibition as “a response to the lived experience of women forbidden from entering certain spaces throughout history.” She even expressed delight at Mona being sued.
Initially, Mona claimed that Kaechele inherited the artworks from her great-grandmother, who she said was a former lover of Picasso. One painting is a replica of Luncheon on the Grass, After Manet (1961) by the Spanish artist.
Kaechele also admitted that other items in the “Ladies Lounge” were not genuine, including “antique” spears and a rug allegedly owned by Queen Mary of Denmark. In a blog post, she explained that she forged the paintings to make the installation “as opulent and sumptuous as possible,” aiming to make men feel excluded by displaying what appeared to be the most important artworks in the world. She mentioned that borrowing real Picassos was not feasible due to insurance costs and the lack of green-colored paintings.
At the end of her post, Kaechele apologized to the Picasso Administration, which manages the late painter’s estate, writing in French, “I am very very sorry for causing you this problem.”
