Qian, a Chinese immigrant disillusioned with his art career in America, a mob of angry buyers and scammed art experts, and the closing of the prestigious Knoedler art gallery. These incidents are seemingly unrelated but connected through the wiles of Glafira Rosales, who duped expert dealers into buying forgeries made by Mr. Qian, thus prompting the Knoedler gallery to close and putting the art world in a frenzy. Incidents such as these are unavoidable but detrimental to the value of art; however, are forgeries really responsible for all this trouble?

Ms. Rosales’s crimes are just the tip of the iceberg. The Fine Art Expert Institute conservatively estimates that forgeries comprise 50% of art circulating in the market. However, since the reputation of art is built upon popularity and credibility, the proliferation of forgeries undermines the art market. It has steadily shrunk for the past decade – losing about $6.6 billion – while other industries experienced exponential growth.

When the concept of “forgery” was coined in the West, an irrational fetish of authenticity emerged. However, scientists discovered evidence that underlines an issue with this obsession: many paintings from the Renaissance and onward were not produced by the artists themselves, but rather by someone else. Many dealers sold paintings made by pupils of famous artists, such as Rembrandt and David, using the more reputed master’s name to promote the artwork as an original piece. Authenticity is merely a certificate dealers bestow to paintings to make them cost more. Even so, the stigma of counterfeits has erased all the short-term benefits monetizing authenticity might offer. Art markets in the West declined because of overly anxious clients, while countries in the East – where forgeries are accepted – have expanded their revenues ninefold, causing trouble for both the art world and the country as a whole.

Researchers found that art is associated with strong metropolitan economies, and in some dense artist-populated cities such as Baltimore, art brought in more than $1 billion to the economy. At a national level, the Argonne National Gallery found that art contributes to 4.5% of the U.S. GDP – a share five times larger than the agriculture industry – and is also essential in healthcare, manufacturing, and local community initiatives. As scams and COVID harm the already vulnerable art industry, it does so at the expense of the country’s well-being.

Art, although expressive, is viewed through an ironically rigid lens in the West. To help shield the frail but important value of art, we will need to rid ourselves of our preconceived notions of forgeries and welcome in a new meaning of art.