[ Man ]
Nothing's original
under the sun, you know?
Everything
goes back to something.
Yes, my name's Mark Lanois.
My recently deceased sister
left your archives a page
from the book of hours...
that they purchased
from Christie's back in 1982.
I wanted to know if I could, uh,
uh, bring it by to you
this afternoon.
[ Man On Phone, Indistinct ]
Okay.
It depicts the crucifixion.
It's circa 1540,
and I'd like to tell you
a little bit
about Emily and her husband.
And, uh, you know,
they worked for World Bank
in Europe and everything.
Well, good.
Then we'll look forward
to seeing you, uh--
When?
When might you like
to come by?
Uh, I th--
Uh, let me see.
I-I-I guess we could
probably get there a little--
Probably-Probably early
this afternoon.
I think I have everything.
I'll only--
I'll only hit the stuff
just before I face...
whatever it is
at the place, okay?
Not when I'm driving.
[ OnStar Voice, Indistinct ]
Connecting to OnStar.
Your approximate travel time
is two hours, seven minutes.
Start out going south--
Oh, yeah, here--
Lester Sullivan.
[ Beeping ]
[ Woman Speaking French ]
Uh--
Yes, sir.
I'm Lester Sullivan.
This is Irwin Lakov.
How you doing?
[ Coughs ]
All right.
Look, I'm writing--
Excuse me.
a little biography of--
Oh, thank you.
of Mother.
[ Coughs ]
Excuse me.
I mean, of my sister.
Oh, this was your sister?
Yes.
Oh, my.
Well.
Oh, and now look.
I'm going to bring the, uh--
the catalog to you.
That's the auction
and everything,
all right?
Oh, isn't that nice?
I-I believe
it'll-it'll-it'll
look well and--
Oh, you know it.
Is that a form--
an early form of color printing
of some sort?
Well, it's all hand done
and colored.
No. It's hand done,
but it's not as good
as the earlier ones.
It's still insured
with Huntington Block.
Now I'm writing
a little biography of Emily.
Of the lady
who left this to us?
Yes.
My sister, Emily.
That would be the sister.
I made her up.
But I-I said
that was my sister.
And I actually did that.
[ Man ]
And why'd you make her up?
Oh, well, I was in the habit
of-- of saying I had a sister...
so that I could...
throw awkward questions
and problems in their lap.
You've got my phone number
and everything.
[ Lester ]
No, sir.
You gave me no data.
Oh. I thought
it might have shown up.
Oh, well.
Do you have a card or--
Uh, I'm pretty much
out of them.
And I'd like you to show me
about where would it be...
where you would think
of putting it.
Well, there would not be
a permanent display.
I've got others.
No, not permanent,
but whenever you--
You see these cases
we've just vacated here?
We have an exhibit
very much relating to
our religious history here.
She certainly knew
what she was doing.
Hmm.
[ Lester ]
Well, I'm glad you're helping
to realize her wish.
I've been following Landis
for going on four years now.
I've got old--
older copies of my dossier
in here.
What's so strange about Landis
is that he's not in it
for the money.
He likes to dupe
museum professionals.
He likes to see the stuff
on display.
I met him in 2008.
I was registrar
at the Oklahoma City
Museum of Art.
He showed up as Mark Landis,
and he started pulling
all these works out.
This was the first piece
that I looked up online...
'cause we were getting ready
to take this watercolor
by Signac...
and make it part
of the collection.
Well, as anybody should,
I did my due diligence,
looked this up online,
and it showed up
in a press release...
at the Savannah College
of Art and Design.
Artists, they'll do
the same subject matter
over and over again, like Monet.
Or he'll do--
You know, he would do
these buildings,
but he'd do it at different
times of day so you'd see
the subtle differences.
But it wasn't until that I
went on to this oil-on-panel
by Stanislas Lpine...
I looked this one up,
and it showed up
in a press release...
at the St. Louis University
Museum of Art.
And then I found the same one
at three more museums.
I mean, these are
no small potatoes.
This Alfred Jacob Miller piece--
this is in six or seven museums.
But they look--
They just look so good
and so real.
You know, the guy is
a skilled artist.
I just became obsessed with it,
just like he is obsessed
with making these paintings.
And, um, I was just out to--
He messed
with the wrong registrar
is what he did.
Hi, Mr. Mark.
Hi, hi.
How are you doing?
You'll sign here for me?
Yes, yes, yes.
[ Woman ]
Mark?
Hi.
Nice to see you again.
Nice to see you too.
[ Air Hissing ]
Tell me about your mood?
What's it like?
Been all right.
- Any suicidal thoughts?
- No.
What about wanting
to hurt anyone else?
No.
Okay.
Are you hearing any voices
or seeing things?
No.
Okay.
What do you do
for fun every day?
Well, I've done an awful lot
of three girls having a--
Three--
Of the three girls...
sitting on the grass reading.
I've done a lot of those.
This one's really tedious.
You get better with practice.
But that's how the--
The back's easy
if you just pour coffee on it.
[ Sighs ]
Oh.
Here's another one.
Put it in one of those
Walmart frames,
looks like a million doll--
It does look like
a million dollars,
'cause actually
that's worth about a million--
Well, maybe not quite that much,
but close.
And these frames are so cheap,
and all you have to do...
is just go over 'em some
with arts and crafts stuff
and they look really good.
Don't you think that looks good?
The Sotheby's label
would have said
"Black chalk, brown"--
You know how those thing--
"Black chalk, brown wash,
red chalk."
I just use color pencils,
you know,
'cause they can't tell.
I just like to copy things
'cause it's what's--
It's reassuring,
and I remember it
from when I was growing up.
You know, I would do it at night
to occupy myself.
You can see the veins
under the skin.
That's so beautiful.
I have this sort of gimmick
for being able
to remember something...
just long enough
to get it onto paper.
It's something
they were very interested in
at the Menninger Foundation.
I was there
for more than a year
when I was 18.
I insisted on leaving.
See, people that follow
the advice of those places,
they're mental patients
all their lives.
You know,
they'll be old someday,
and what can they say?
I've been through a lot lately.
I have these bad dreams.
It's like Mother's there.
And then I wake up
and I realize she's not,
and my heart's banging real bad.
See, this grass and stuff
is-is nothing.
See, it's practically done
just like--
Well, you know, they told Mother
at the Menninger Foundation,
they said I was
a bright little boy.
They said,
"He's a bright little boy."
They said that to Mother.
[ Sighs ]
But they said I was inclined
to be mischievous--
[ Laughs ]
from time to time.
[ Leininger ]
Museums--
they don't like to be duped.
They don't like to get forgeries
or fakes into their collections.
Oklahoma City actually put
one of 'em on display because
we thought that it was real.
We had received a watercolor
by Louis Valtat.
Yeah, I mean,
when we found out...
that we had had this thing
on display for five months,
we immediately went
into the gallery
and took it off the wall.
And then that's when
I started letting people know.
Sent a message out
to the Registrars listserv,
and within the first hour,
my phone was ringing
off the hook,
and my e-mail box
was getting full.
And I think within
the first hour, I had talked
to, like, 20 institutions.
'Cause I'd say to 'em, I'd say,
"Well, what do you have?"
and they would tell me.
I said,
"Well, this museum has that,
and this museum has that,"
and they didn't believe me.
It took me three times
talking with the director...
at the University of Kentucky
Museum of Art
before I could convince her...
that the pieces
that they had received
were forgeries.
He's been doing it
over 30 years,
and I've found 46 museums
in 20 states...
with more than a hundred pieces
that he's offered up
to these institutions.
Well, I just remember
the time that I spent
with Landis personally.
Here's this great collector
that has a lot of money,
and, you know, the director
wanted me to take him
into storage,
wanted me to take him
through the museum.
Um, so he per--
He wasted a lot of my time.
But I just keep building
my case...
because I don't think
that he's gonna stop.
[ Man ] He brought with him
two briefcases--
satchels, really.
In one of the satchels,
he had the small Koran...
that he had sent us an image of
and the auction record.
Uh, the hammer price
was somewhere close
to a hundred thousand dollars,
sold anonymously,
and he represented that that's
what his mother had purchased.
There was some
generational welfare.
I don't think he used that term,
but he certainly implied...
that there was
a great deal of money--
and old money-- there.
His mother had a home in Paris.
And I think--
believe his sister--
Emily was her name--
was in Paris at that moment, uh,
settling her estate.
One of the things
that he brought up
very quickly...
was that there were
more paintings...
and possible endowments
from the family's estate.
He knew right where to hit us.
Our soft spot--
art and money.
He was very interested
in the museum.
He was knowledgeable
about the museum.
He was, um, you know,
friendly, if a little--
a little odd, but we--
You know, we're southern.
We're used to eccentrics.
This is the piece.
It's a nice pastel.
I should've looked at it
more closely,
but I'm not the only curator
he duped.
[ Woman ]
I have felt totally embarrassed.
We can't show that
as an authentic Charles Schulz.
It-It makes us, uh, fake.
Well, I actually found out
about Mark Landis, uh,
a little over a year ago.
It was rather intriguing.
There's kind of
a performance art quality
to the act.
It made me very curious
to understand more
what his motivation is.
Or, uh--
or how-- how well he understands
what the implications are.
[ Line Ringing ]
[ Phone Beeps ]
[ Landis ]
Hello?
Hi. Good day, Mr. Landis.
How are you?
- Pretty good.
- I certainly appreciate
you taking my call.
Anyway, I got your e-mail.
As you might imagine,
I have a number of questions
that I'd like to ask you.
Oh, sure, sure.
Well, I'd like to ask you
some questions about, uh--
about what makes you, uh,
compelled to do this.
It's-It's a long story.
It's hard to, you know--
And I know, you know--
I know we both--
I mean, well--
[ Clicks Tongue ]
You know.
It's a long story.
This is--
This is Mother's--
Mother and Dad's wedding album.
Okay.
That's Mother.
That's the table that's there.
There's Mother and Dad.
There's Mother and Dad again.
See, they're cutting the cake
with-with Dad's sword,
which is there.
See?
Isn't Mother beautiful?
And they had
a cocker spaniel too.
Just like in Lady and the Tramp.
And then they had me
'cause Buster died.
Dad was a naval officer.
We traveled all the time.
And Mother and Dad
of course were young,
and they liked to travel
around Europe and see things...
even when it wasn't on business.
And of course they took me
with them, you know.
Dad would take me around
to the museums.
We'd come back
with catalogs,
and Mother and Dad
would go out at night, you know.
They were young,
and I would be in the hotel.
There wasn't a TV.
I would copy pictures.
Occasionally, there was
a babysitter,
but they aren't that easy.
But, you know, the hotel
would periodically send
someone up to look in on me.
You know.
I-I think.
[ Woman ]
What do you call it?
[ Landis ]
Uh, I-I couldn't think
of anything else,
so-so I just called it
a memory trick.
The earliest I remember
doing anything like it...
would have been when I was
about eight or something...
in a hotel room copying pictures
out of catalogs.
And you would put
the piece of paper up close
to the picture you were copying,
and then the closer I got,
I guess somehow I just ended up
putting the piece of paper
over the--
And even though I couldn't see
through the piece of paper,
I could flip it
back and forth enough
to get a likeness.
The memory trick's sort of like
a magic trick...
or an illusion trick,
or whatever you have--
a conjurer's trick.
You know?
It's the same kind of thing.
And so you enjoy--
You get--
You get a little bit--
a little boost, you know.
[ Cowan ]
And did you want to be
an artist?
[ Landis ]
You know how it is
when you're that age.
You see something on TV,
you wanna be this,
and then you wanna be that.
I saw A Dog of Flanders.
I'll take this one.
Mother and Dad bought me a TV
for my birthday in '69.
When I was young,
I thought I'd won the lottery...
if I could just get
decent TV reception.
But you use
your imagination, you know?
'Cause lots of times
the reception was so bad
I just had to guess.
[ Control Voice ]
There is nothing wrong
with your television set.
We are controlling transmission.
[ Landis ]
Those who have nothing to hide
have nothing to fear...
from ze Gestapo.
And stuff like that.
You know what I mean.
Get a little--
a little clouds here.
Some happy little clouds.
[ Woman On TV ]
Your majesty, may I present
the infamous Simon Templar?
[ Landis ]
I live by the code of The Saint.
Dad and I both lived by it.
You don't remember The Saint?
Oh, it was a great show.
The Saint was such a hero.
No matter how bad a girl was,
he'd always let her get away.
He never shot a girl.
My favorite musical is
How to Succeed in Business
Without Really Trying.
Remember when Vince said,
"By George, ethical behavior
always pays off"?
But he was just making a joke
because ethical behavior
doesn't pay off.
That's why Dad never got on...
'cause he was
too much of a gentleman.
He was nothing like me.
I would have been an immense
disappointment to him.
Speaking of your father, uh,
your father was an officer
and a gentleman,
That's true.
and he knew nothing
of intrigue or deceit.
And that's why people like Dad
couldn't be a businessman.
After all, you know,
Saint Peter lied, you know?
Where would the church be
if Saint Peter didn't lie?
You have to let your conscience
be your guide.
If something seems...
really bad,
or something--
if something seems wrong,
you know--
Do you have any idea
why at this point
you haven't been prosecuted?
'Cause I-I didn't do
anything wrong or illegal.
He's uncovered
an international case
of deception...
that has ended
with dozens of museums saddled
with bogus works of art.
What I did was looked up
this piece online.
I found the same one
at the Savannah College
of Art and Design.
[ Woman ] The piece
was one of five donated
to the Oklahoma City museum...
where Matt Leininger worked
in 2008, donated by this man,
Mark Landis,
in memory of his mother.
He also found the aliases--
Stephen Gardner
and Father Scott.
Landis likely knows by now...
Cincinnati's Director
of Museum Services
has his number.
Good stuff.
Come here, bub.
Who's that guy?
Mark Landis?
Who?
Mark Landis.
Yeah, that's Mark Landis.
Hi.
It's nice to see you again.
How are you doing?
All right.
Thanks.
Your medication--
you're on Geodon.
You've been taking that?
I have.
Got a few left.
Got a few left.
You keep taking it just like
you're supposed to, okay?
Any depressive symptoms?
Have you been upset more...
lately about anything?
[ Quiet Whimper ]
[ Whimpers ]
Anything on your mind?
Well, I'm getting--
I'm getting, you know.
I guess as time goes by,
I'll get over
what happened to Mother.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah, I know for a lot of years,
you were taking care of her,
right?
[ Landis ]
I moved in with her
after the hurricane.
And see,
since Mother's been gone,
it would be...
two years?
Took me a long time
to get over it.
But I had to answer,
'cause they kept banging--
Everybody kept banging
on the door, you know.
And I was too upset still
to type an obituary
and stuff like that, you know.
Had to pull myself together
for her funeral.
[ Mumbles, Indistinct ]
[ Landis ]
In Sunday school
they always tell everybody...
to make use of your gifts,
you know?
And copying pictures is my gift.
I decided to be
a philanthropist.
It happened as an impulse
back in '85, I think.
I wanted to impress Mother
that I'd done something
for Father's memory.
I-I thought
it would please Mother.
Do you think she had
any suspicions
of what you were doing?
Oh, yeah.
The mother always knew
when I was up to mischief.
You know how mothers are.
So she knew
why you were traveling?
She'd have known.
Huh.
But she was proud of me.
And then later on...
I could tell
she was sort of proud, but--
Well, but that's--
Let's not say that.
I mean, she didn't mind.
Let's put it like that.
[ Landis ]
Uh, I had the inspiration
to be a priest about a year ago.
Seems longer,
so much has happened.
I went on
philanthropic binges...
in Mother's car...
in states--
the southern states--
and Florida,
and a bit in Texas.
And I took some bus trips.
That's the joke that they have
in aristocratic families
from England.
They always say
oldest son goes to the navy,
next one goes to the army,
next one for a profession,
and we always give the fool
to the church.
[ Laughs ]
See, the church could use
some talent.
They could use
a guy like me, you know?
I'd be a good priest.
Gee, I can't go
to one of those places
for six years.
And they're hard too, you know?
They're crazy.
You can learn everything
you need to know
to be a good priest...
from the Father Brown
DVD series with Kenneth More
just like that.
See, over time--
that's exactly their thinking,
you know?
[ OnStar ]
2601 Gentilly Boulevard...
is three-quarters
of a mile away.
[ Gulls Squawking ]
[ Woman ]
Well, I've heard
that some museums are...
quite distressed
and maybe upset...
that he has donated paintings...
and they were not
original works.
I don't have evidence.
I've just heard.
I occasionally have empathy.
Um--
I used to have empathy.
I don't anymore.
I do believe he knows
what he was doing was wrong.
I'm not a person
who wants vengeance.
I just want him to stop.
The schematics--
It is a serious crime,
and we can't tolerate that.
No matter what issues
or challenges you may have,
that's still no excuse.
And, um, you either need
to be hospitalized
or you need to be in jail.
Thanks, Father.
Bless you.
Yeah, I first heard
about Mark Landis...
back around 2005 or 2006
when I had gotten a call--
I was still working
at the F.B.I.
I was still an agent.
I got a call
from Matt Leininger.
And he was the one
who told me about this situation
with this individual...
who was doing, uh, forgeries,
fake pieces of art,
and giving them to museums
around the country.
The art world's
a very strange place, you know?
A lot of things happen
in the art world.
In this particular case,
I think that the forgeries,
the-the gifts
of the forgeries...
were basically
an ego satisfaction...
for the painter, Mr. Landis.
Matt Leininger has been
the only person that has pursued
this from the beginning.
Uh, he's stayed on top of it.
He's done a great job of-of--
of, uh, pursuing it
almost to the point
of obsession.
There we go.
[ Types ]
[ Beeps ]
[ Sighs ]
Hey, Jonah.
It's Matt Leininger
in Cincinnati.
I wanted to talk to you
and give you an update
on, um, Landis...
and bring you up to speed
just because I know you would
have an interest, and, uh,
maybe there's be something
that you could, uh, write
at your new position, um,
for a local publication
so we can just keep spreading
the word about Landis.
[ Dog Whines ]
Why don't you go upstairs?
[ Phone Rings ]
Hello?
Hey, Matt, it's Jonah.
Hey, Jonah.
How are you doing, man?
Good, good.
[ Indistinct ]
Oh, not a problem.
Well, do you know
of his third and fourth aliases?
[ Jonah, Indistinct ]
Okay.
Well, and it's the biggest
screwball story I've ever heard
about in my life.
And I ask the good Lord
every day.
It's, like, "Why am I the one?"
You know?
Why am I the one
that found this guy?
[ Cowan ]
Well, so what do you know
of Matthew Leininger then?
Did you find out about him
through being contacted
from one--
I couldn't have spent
much time with him 'cause--
And the only time I can think of
would have been when I was
in the basement down there.
Um, that's--
I-I-I-I don't even know
what he looks like.
- But you realize
he's been keeping tabs on you?
- Oh, yeah, I know all that.
I found his fourth alias.
He hit Loyola University
in New Orleans
as Mark Lanois.
Well, I'm still looking
for full-time work,
but I got
a part-time gig going on.
And that's what I've been doing.
Maybe that's my gig right now.
I am to be a stay-at-home dad,
and, uh--
It's just weird being a--
you know.
It's just weird
being the man of the house
and being at home.
So do you want a taco?
Yep.
Okay.
[ Child ]
Tacos with soap.
No, no, no, no.
Don't put soap in it.
Then your juice
will taste like soap.
Yuck!
Hey, I know you're excited
about school.
Just--
No, I'm not.
Can you calm down
a little bit?
I'm not.
We got to go.
[ Coughs ]
[ Groans ]
I thought they said it was gonna
warm up a little bit today.
Hey, girl.
Yeah, we go through hiccups
in life.
It's been 15 months since
the first time ever...
that I was ever let go
from, um, a position.
Do I think that, um,
the Cincinnati Art Museum, um,
had something against me
or were scared
because I was onto Landis?
Um--
They told me
that while I am working
for the art museum,
I am not to accept phone calls,
send or receive e-mails,
uh, regarding Landis.
Period.
You do it on your own.
And soon after that,
they let me know
I didn't have a job anymore.
But you can see every state--
California, Arizona, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri,
Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee--
[ Wittman ]
When Matt contacted me,
he gave me a list...
of the many museums
that he had been following.
The idea that the museums may
have thought that the paintings
were real or not real,
that's all dependent
upon the specific museum,
which one you speak to.
If they thought it was real,
it's still--
They didn't spend
any money for it.
And it wasn't like Landis
went in and said,
"Here, I'm gonna give you this
fabulous painting by Picasso,
and you need to pay me
a hundred thousand dollars
for the painting,"
and then received the money,
which would--
That would be a crime, okay?
That's a fraud.
But the fact is he gave it
to the museum for free.
It's up to the museum
to determine
what they wanna think of it.
I don't know if Landis
has become a-a-a obsession
for, um,
the general public
or the ones at museums.
Uh, I believe that, um--
I mean, I-- I am, you know,
anal retentive.
I have been diagnosed
with, like, a--
What do they call it now?
O.C.D. or A.D.H.D.
or whatever.
Um, but when I get focused
on something,
I mean, I stick to it
and I stay on it...
until I get
to the end of it, you know?
[ Landis ]
I had a nervous breakdown
when I was 17...
'cause I was upset
about Dad passing.
I went into one hospital that--
for--
'Cause to just see
if it was a physical--
And of course we know
whenever they can--
And so they--
Then there was, you know,
the psychiatric part of the--
Yeah, see, this stuff
all goes back to '72.
"Schizophrenic paranoid
and psychotic disorders."
I got that.
"Personality disorders."
I got that.
"Catatonic or other
grossly disorganized behavior."
I guess I've got that too.
Well, it says I've got it, so--
[ Chuckles ]
"Incoherence"--
Well, wait a minute.
I didn't mean to laugh.
Gee, that's awful.
"Oddities of thought,
perception, speech
and behavior."
Oh, no.
I don't have that.
Yeah, okay.
I'm okay on that one.
I've just got the pathologically
inappropriate suspiciousness...
and impulsive
and damaging behavior.
That I've got.
[ Sighs ]
Oh, that's bad enough.
[ Chuckles ]
Okay.
And you went into the clinic
at that point?
Mother's friend suggested
the Menninger Founda--
which is a fine place.
Were you happy there?
Oh, yeah.
And you were there for
about two years, I guess?
Well, you know.
- I mean, happy enough.
- Yeah.
So, um,
when you were in Chicago,
you studied photography.
When you went to San Francisco,
did you?
Um, I took photography.
I should--
Do you have
any of the photographs
that-that, uh,
that you took?
No.
No?
You know, that's the thing.
I learned all the processes...
'cause I thought
if I was going to school
at the government's expense,
I should learn
how to do something.
But after I learned
the processes,
I couldn't think of a thing
I wanted to take a picture of.
The first picture
I remember giving away...
was a Maynard Dixon drawing
of an Indian.
[ Woman ]
And did you do it?
And I actually did it.
Yeah, I drew it.
And not only
did I actually draw it,
it was my own Indian because--
'cause I checked out a book
on Indians from the library...
and then I drew a picture
of an Indian.
I used to actually do things...
before I found out what all
you could do with the machines.
Let's do this--
No, let's not do that one.
Ah!
We can do
the little boy on the beach.
We can do Picasso's...
really unattractive sister
with a mustache.
Oh, it says "originals."
That's just for me.
You know, like,
so I'd be able to know...
what was the original one
from the one I ran off.
That's why I put a little "O"
on the back--
"O" for "original."
I would use this
to blow it up 154 times...
so that I could paste it
onto a piece of wood...
that I got them to cut for me
at Lowe's...
'cause they don't have
a Home Depot in Laurel.
And--
But Lowe's is just as good.
You know, maybe bang up
the edges a little,
and then you're in business.
I already stained it
with instant coffee.
Now I make it look
like thick paint,
then simulate paint strokes
with that stuff I got.
It's difficult,
'cause I-I-I don't know...
whether he used a knife
and scraped around her--
or anything.
It's the parts
where it's real dark--
and the eye will be deceived.
You know, heaven only knows
how he painted it.
They're not gonna know either,
so--
I chose this room
for my paintings.
You will find a somewhat, um,
varied selection...
from the chiaroscuro
of the Dutch masters...
to the symbolic fantasies--
[ Landis ]
The only reason
I would've known...
about Picasso
and his Blue Period...
would've been
because I saw Gambit.
She was just showing off
her knowledge.
Picasso,
and one of his best,
I always think.
[ Woman ]
Oh, the Blue Period.
[ Landis ]
The kids that I'd have been
in class with,
when they daydreamed,
they'd think,
"Gee, wouldn't it be cool
to be like those artists
in movies?"
But I always liked
the stuffy, rich art collectors.
They must be worth thousands.
[ Chuckles ]
Hundreds of thousands.
Yes.
[ Landis ]
The patrons.
Those are the people
I used to daydream about.
[ Knocking ]
So how long
have you lived here now, Mark?
Since the hurricane.
Since the hurricane.
[ Landis ]
Donna was the first caseworker
that I had.
My first one and a good one
back when I got out
of the group home.
What is this sword?
That's Grandfather's
sword.
And Dad's sword too.
See the "A.L."?
Mm-hmm.
See?
"A.L."
[ Sighs ]
And so how are your two boys
getting along?
They're good.
Growing up.
Do you remember
when I showed you...
the romance
of the paper clips?
Yes.
It inspired you.
It inspired me.
So how have you
been feeling?
Pretty good.
Pretty good.
Taking care of yourself?
Yeah.
As you can see.
Yes.
How are you doing
on your medicine?
Are you taking it?
Oh, yeah.
Definitely,
definitely.
So do you get out much?
And of course--
Do you go out to eat
or do much in the community?
Mmm.
Or do you mainly stay at home?
Uh.
[ Landis ]
In the Metropolitan.
In Atlanta?
Yeah.
Oh, I changed
my name, you know.
[ Donna ]
So you gave them an icon?
Yeah.
You told them
that you lost your sister?
Yeah.
I think it might
be better...
not to mention
my mother anymore.
For a while.
Okay.
Oh, I'll show you
Mother's picture.
That's Mother
when she was 17.
Mm-hmm.
I did that in high school.
Did she pose for you,
or did you just do it?
- No. I did it
from that photograph.
- Okay.
[ English ]
Mark is one of those people who,
you know, I think of often...
and worry that he's doing okay.
I'm really not sure
how I feel...
about the escapades
that he goes on.
But we want to protect
our clients' rights...
to live a productive life.
Unless he was a danger
to someone else or himself,
Mark is in fact
in charge of himself.
[ Horns Honking ]
[ Man ]
I was called by an editor
one day from London,
and she'd heard about Mark
and she said,
"Would you be at all interested
in looking into it...
'cause it sounds crazy
and interesting and strange."
And I got some public records...
of various numbers
of places he'd lived.
He'd lived in a lot
of different places,
and there were lots
of phone numbers listed.
And I tried ringing
a few of them,
but I never got anywhere.
And so I thought, well,
the only way to do this
is to go.
To go to Laurel.
And I thought,
well, when I'm down there,
I'll sort of poke around...
and see if I can find his trail.
I went to see the curator
of the local museum in Laurel.
They mentioned
that they sometimes saw him
around town,
and I had an address
for his mother's apartment
from the public records,
and so I literally
just drove around there.
It was a very strange place
for me.
I'd never really been
to a small town
in Mississippi before.
I had been told
that he was schizophrenic.
Uh, certainly the way
that people talked about Mark,
they talked about him as if
he was somebody quite strange,
and I was a little bit nervous
about being there by myself.
But I rang on the doorbell.
There was a light on inside,
and I could hear
this classical music playing.
But there was no reply.
Nothing.
By that time,
I was really getting
quite obsessed by it,
and I'd spoken
to a couple of the neighbors,
and they'd talked about Mark
a little bit.
And so I really, really wanted
to meet him.
All afternoon, nothing.
I saw the light go on,
the light go off,
but it was just like
he was so obstinate,
he was not gonna come out.
At dusk I drove away,
and I was really regretful.
I thought, "I'm never gonna
actually see him."
Literally the next week,
I was walking along the street
and my mobile phone rang.
And I just--
I realized it was Landis.
And I thought, "Oh, my God.
He's calling me."
[ Cowan, Over Phone ]
The point at which you realized
that you had been discovered,
when did that happen?
See, it's the Financial--
I remember John was calling
all the time...
but I thought it was
something to do with...
wanting me to subscribe
or something.
I don't know.
He's such a gentleman.
Fair play and a straight bat.
They don't really think
about it much, you know?
'Cause I always knew
they'd find out sooner or later.
I mean,
they're always going to.
You know, it's either today
or might be 10 years...
or maybe 20 years or 30 years.
Sometimes I used to think--
Until a couple years ago,
I used to think,
"Why not just spend
the rest of my life
doing this?"
It's clearly my--
my, uh--
my calling.
That was my idea
to put the raincoat on.
Like on all those movies
where some shifty-looking guy
comes up on the street.
"Moi, Mark Landis, peintre,
et philanthrope."
I like that.
Actually, I didn't read it
that closely.
In some ways, Mark was unlucky
that he provoked
Matt Leininger...
because he has been doing this
for decades...
without anybody
really getting on his trail.
And it was Matt
that really took offense
at what he'd done...
and decided
that he would get him.
Hey, Katie.
What?
Look at this.
Who's that?
- That's Mark Landis.
- Yeah, Mark Landis.
That's right.
Are you crazy?
Am I crazy?
Mm-hmm.
Um, no.
[ Laughs ]
Look at this.
Mark Landis.
And who's that?
Mark Landis.
[ Katie ]
You don't like
Mark Landis anymore?
Well, I was frustrated
with Landis...
and angry with him
when I first
found out about him,
but I'm not mad
at Landis anymore, no.
But are you mad at girls
and the boys at your old job?
Am I mad at the guys
and girls at my old job?
Mm-hmm.
No.
That's in my past, Katie.
I'm not gonna let
anything like that--
Can you put that back
in there for Dad
if I hold this up?
Here, slide it in real easy.
[ Gapper ]
One of the first things
Mark said to me...
when he'd admitted
what he'd been doing...
was that he was worried
that he will simply become
too well known...
that nobody will let him
in a museum ever again.
[ Landis ]
I remember
I was trying to think...
of things
that might calm me down.
I went to the emergency room,
and I got whatever that is.
Made me throw up.
"Lorzapam."
Yep.
"Lorazepam."
Yeah, and then I thought--
I noticed on TCN,
they were always having
cigarettes to calm down.
And I was sort of desperate,
and I thought
I would try a cigarette.
But of course I wasn't
doing it for--
You know, all these influences
kind of get to you, you know?
And they always recommend
"Have a cigarette." You know?
And I thought
maybe it will help
to calm me down...
so I don't keep pacing
up and down.
[ Sighs ]
I'm guarded about anything...
that casts aspersions on...
your integrity.
And, uh--
And that's dishonorable
and unethical.
Didn't have much
of a reputation, but--
Well, you know it...
really got ruined,
uh, uh, more so
than they thought even.
I worry that it's--
I'm going to be--
I'm going to be like Dad--
as a crook and a drinker
and a smoker, you know.
Which is all pretty bad.
It's pretty negative, you know?
That, uh--
Necessity is
the mother of invention--
sometimes the stepmother
of deception.
That pretty much
takes care of things.
[ Screams ]
Lights!
Turn on the lights!
I can't believe that
Professor Bowen and Carlotta
would purposely deceive us.
Necessity, mother of invention,
but sometimes
stepmother of deception.
[ Woman ]
Mark?
Hey.
Hi.
Okay.
How's your appetite?
Pretty good.
[ Typing ]
Any suicidal thoughts?
No.
Wanting to hurt
anyone else?
No.
Are you hearing voices
or seeing--
No.
How's your mother?
She still with you?
No.
No?
Um, she passed away.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I didn't know that.
When did she pass away?
Two years ago.
Two years ago?
I didn't realize that.
I'm so sorry.
I think I met her
back when Katrina
came through.
I thought I told you.
The what?
I thought I told you.
Well, that's all right.
I'm sorry.
Don't worry about it.
How are you doing
since she's gone?
Oh, okay.
[ Landis ]
I got addicted
to being a philanthropist.
When you're doing it
or something,
uh, you kind of believe it...
while you're giving things away.
You believe it
while it's going on, you know.
Like a part.
Like those guys on--
that are really good at it.
You know, good actors,
you know, those ones.
Not that I think of it as act--
being an actor,
but in any event,
I just wasn't really used
to having anybody treat me
like that.
Actually,
I wasn't used to it all--
Used to.
I mean, it seldom happened.
Let's put it like th--
Let's put it like that.
Seldom happened
that people were nice to me.
[ Country On P.A. ]
[ Chattering ]
[ Crickets Chirping ]
[ Cicadas Chirring ]
[ Camera Shutter Clicks ]
I kind of have a feel
for the way
that things should flow.
Okay.
Possibly this wall
and this wall...
will be little snapshots
of notable figures...
that demonstrate
what is different
about his particular case--
Okay.
versus other forgers
of the past really.
[ Leininger ]
Aaron Cowan and I
used to be coworkers...
at Cincinnati Art Museum.
And he read the story
in the New York Times.
And he says, "Have you thought
about doing an exhibition?"
I said, "Absolutely,
and I believe that I could get
the lenders for the show,
but I don't have a venue."
Up on the east coast,
he went further north.
He skipped Texas.
Yeah.
That's interesting.
That is interesting, isn't it?
[ Cowan ]
The show focuses on...
using a predecessor's work
as inspiration...
versus simply plagiarizing
the work.
Throughout here,
we'll be showing
the different...
gifts that he made
in the different locations.
So it is literally
a timeline.
Potentially, yes.
Wouldn't it be great
to get these forgeries together
in one place...
and then invite Landis
as guest of honor?
At that point,
it sort of brings us up
to the point at which Matt,
uh, discovered the forgeries
that they had.
Okay.
[ Leininger ]
It's not going
to glamorize Landis.
It's going to be about educating
and telling people don't take
things at face value.
Do your due diligence,
and here are examples...
of some of these institutions
that, um--
that were duped.
So how do you feel about, uh,
there being an exhibition?
Uh, well, I-I--
I think that's pretty nice
of you.
It's, uh, uh--
I'll send you
some good things...
'cause you can't have
all that much space.
So you wouldn't need that many.
Oh, we've got a pretty good--
good-sized gallery here.
- Oh. Well, all right.
- You might be surprised.
'Cause I can send you
some good things I did.
I did things that were
pretty bad, but I was--
I mean--
I mean the pictures, you know.
[ Chuckling ]
You know what I mean.
Okay, I'm gonna write down
this FedEx number.
[ Classical ]
[ Grunts Softly ]
Hi, Matt.
How's it going?
Good.
How are you?
I cannot believe this.
There's
the Alfred Jacob Millers.
I didn't think
they were so small.
Geez.
He just went all out.
See, this is an older paper.
I mean, you can't
distress foxing.
You know, you can't make paper,
you know--
That's what that is.
That's foxing in the paper.
Where he got it, I don't know.
All I can say is what I know.
What is this?
[ Chuckles ]
Oh, Landis.
Landis.
It'd be really interesting
to peel this back and see
if it smells like coffee.
And Dr. Seuss.
My daughter would love this.
She loves Cat in the Hat.
Unbelievable.
A treaty warrant?
Treasurer of the Republic
of Texas?
Mm-hmm.
Are you serious?
This is a f--
This is a forged
official document.
Oh, yeah.
I totally see the pixels.
And there's more coming?
That's my understanding.
How many do we have here?
Well, we're just
going through 'em now.
You gotta turn it.
Oh, you turn it.
Okay.
All right.
Oh, yeah, look at that.
See, everywhere
where there's not paint,
that's the digital reproduction
underneath of it.
Have you looked at the Picasso
underneath the black light?
Nice.
[ Chuckles ]
There you go.
There it is there.
Look at all that
throughout the face.
Yeah.
Now let's go down
to the signature.
It's not that fluorescent.
You know, when you're receiving
works like this,
you have got to scrutinize
the gifts.
I mean, you have to be careful.
You have to do
your due diligence.
So it's a men's
38-regular jacket.
Well, it definitely shows
his size,
and he is a little guy.
[ Blowing ]
[ Beeping ]
I think she's got
a problem.
Ethel's got her hair
all skinned back
like a wet Pekingese.
Well, now that you
have been discovered, um,
do you plan on continuing
to gift?
I-I kinda had--
thought I'd wanna think
about it.
There just isn't anything
to do, you know?
You just sit and watch TV,
you know, and--
Uh--
[ Cowan ]
Well, you've done it
pretty recently, haven't you?
[ Landis ]
Oh, yeah.
I know, I know.
I know
what you're talking about.
Yeah, I went
to a bunch of places that day.
[ Cowan ]
I should probably
be clear with you.
I personally do find
what you're doing to be wrong,
but I don't think
that you're doing it
in a mean-spirited way.
But I certainly have to ask you
if you would consider to--
to stop doing what you're doing.
[ Siren Wails In Distance ]
[ Siren Wails In Distance ]
Where's the thing--
Where's the thing you put--
I went out and smoked anyway.
It's all this...
not-eat fasting, you know?
Wow, I gotta sit down.
This time what's wrong with me?
[ Sighs ]
I don't see
why I am so keyed up now.
Still, what's wrong with me?
Like, you know,
all those science fiction shows,
you know?
People would be better off
if they could be
proper Vulcans, you know?
I mean, the real thing,
not like on that show.
You know, and not have emotions,
you know?
Then you wouldn't get
so upset by things.
But it'll probably be
a million years before...
human beings evolve
to that point.
That's not too bad.
[ People Chattering ]
Well, he didn't get
in trouble for it.
He's just kind of famous for it.
But you can see through--
But you can tell...
a lot of difference.
[ Woman ]
Wow, that's amazing.
[ Chattering Continues ]
...that his work
is just pretty stunning.
As a painter and a draftsman,
he's really quite talented.
[ Leininger ]
I don't know what to expect,
and I don't know
what his expectation is.
When I see him,
I just don't know what to say.
'Cause I--
I mean, honestly,
I-I-I--
I don't know if even--
if I want to say,
"Good to see you again."
I think it's just gonna be,
"Hey, I'm Matt Leininger."
Oh, don't feel like
you even have to say anything.
I don't think, you know?
It's, uh, short and honest,
I guess.
[ Laughs ]
[ Coughs ]
[ Man ]
How are you?
Nice to see you again.
Nice to see you.
Hi.
Nice to see you.
Hi, Mr. Landis.
How are you?
Are you Aaron?
Good, thanks.
You're-You're Aaron?
I'm-I'm the dean
of C.C.M.
Uh, the conservatory
of music.
Holy cow.
He made it here.
You look like an artist,
all right.
Yeah.
You sure do.
I know you were--
You're-You're an artist
from central casting.
- [ Chuckles ]
- You know?
Well, you're quite
an artist yourself.
You look like a--
like-like a beatnik artist.
He'll be out there for two hours
speaking 'cause nobody can get
a word in edgewise.
[ Chuckling ]
I bet you designed it.
She did.
I made it.
I made it, and I made these.
That's really nice.
Oh, and you did the ear--
You mean, you actually
made those?
Yes.
By hand with a coping saw,
soldering.
Well, that's--
The stone I found on--
I'll tell you--
I tell you, arts and crafts
is just the greatest thing.
And watch TV
when you do it too.
May I... say something to you?
Oh, yeah, sure.
I'm very straightforward,
and I'm not trying
to be offensive either.
No, she's never offensive.
But your work is so nice--
It's amazing.
Why don't you just do it
yourself
and put your name on it--
Oh, yeah.
rather than copying
somebody else?
Well, I did
The Young Virgin.
Oh, you did?
So you're gonna give me
a tour?
Uh, cer-- Certainly.
I can take you around.
I think that you
should probably--
Nobody ever looks like
what you think
they'll look like.
Well, I had the good fortune
of seeing photographs of you
beforehand.
Uh, uh, Mr. Landis,
uh, you might be interested
to meet this gentleman.
This is, uh,
Matthew Leininger.
Hi, I'm Matthew Leininger.
Oh, nice to see--
Nice to see you again.
Yeah, nice to see you too.
It's been about five years.
Did you have safe travels?
I'll tell-- We--
I couldn't have talked to you
for very long.
Couldn't have been
more than a few minutes.
Well, anyway,
nice to see you again.
Nice to see you.
Nice to see you too.
And, um--
Oh, we-we-well--
You're gonna give me a--
give me a tour?
- You gonna come along?
- I would love to come along
with you guys.
Oh, come along.
Come along.
I'm terribly sorry if I--
But listen--
anything I can do for you,
you just let me know,
you know?
You can stop.
Oh, yeah, definitely.
Hey, did I get
the colors right on that?
What-What are
the real colors?
What--
It'd be--
On the Valtat?
It'd be kind of funny to know.
[ Leininger ]
But I see that you used
the same colors...
that you did
in your Signac drawings.
Do you think that
reproductions in catalogs...
are true representations
of what the artist's intent?
Definitely not,
because there's no telling
what the real colors are like.
Yeah.
They always get it wrong.
Well, you know,
sometimes, you know,
reproductions in catalogs
can be true to--
Yeah.
I just had to guess,
you know?
[ Indistinct ]
[ Landis ]
I've seen all this stuff,
to tell you the truth.
[ Laughs ]
So you're not interested
in seeing this?
Nah.
Is there anybody nice to talk to
like those other people?
Well, I'm nice to talk to.
Oh, yeah, sure.
Did I say you weren't?
No.
I said, "Is there anybody
nice to talk to?"
[ Chuckles ]
Well, yeah,
I guess it does--
I should've said,
"Is there anybody else
nice to"--
Oh, yeah, there's a bunch
of nice people in there.
I'm not running
for office.
Oh, I know.
I'm not a politician.
I know.
I slip up all the time.
No, I think everybody
in this room is nice.
There must be somebody that--
Any art students around?
Oh, I'm sure.
I'm certain many of these
young people are art students.
Let's talk
to some art students.
Why don't you guys go ahead,
and I'll catch up with you.
[ Landis ]
Are you an art student?
Oh, pleasure to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
Where are you from, Italy?
Iran.
Huh?
Iran.
Oh, no kidding?
Wow. God bless.
You're an artist, right?
Yeah.
Oh.
Hey, how are you?
You look like an artist.
I'm an artist.
I'm the dean
of the college here.
Oh.
I'm Mark Landis.
Pleasure to meet you.
Yeah, I know.
I'm happy to meet you.
Anybody--
I-I get back, but--
What do you think
about your show?
Oh, it's real nice of you.
Thanks a lot.
Oh, you're welcome.
I-I'm not really an artist.
I-I used to--
Yeah, you are.
I used to like to do
arts and crafts, yeah.
When I'm watching TV.
Got used to it, you know.
You should do paintings
with your real own name.
Yeah, oh, yeah.
Well, I used to.
And you should exhibit them
in galleries.
I used to.
I did--
I did that.
That's got my name on it.
[ Shutter Clicking ]
Why don't you pick
a church or a scene
that you're interested in,
paint it,
and you can make five paintings
of the same piece?
I like pictures
of saints and martyrs
and stuff like that.
And Joan of--
She's our patron saint,
you know.
Looks like a lot of people
have been here.
You know how students are--
freeloaders.
[ Laughs ]
At least they used to--
Okay, I'm a permanent student.
Are you
a permanent student?
I'm a--
I was a nontraditional
student too.
[ Indistinct ]
I never--
I never got a degree.
I'm glad I--
I'm lucky to have
a high school diploma.
But you must have been
very talented.
You probably were
a little genius
when you were a little boy.
Here.
Would you like a glass?
Eh, I never drink...
wine.
Oh, you don't?
You saw Dracula.
You remember Dracula.
Yeah, I do.
That's Bela Lugosi's
most famous line.
Oh.
"I never drink... wine."
[ Laughs ]
[ Chuckles ]
Hey.
There you go.
You're welcome.
Well, nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.
Okay, bye.
Bye.
[ Indistinct ]
Okay.
Yeah.
Watch your step.
Thank you.
Well, Mark, I don't wanna take
any more of your time.
Hey, if I caused them
any trouble,
I'm really, really sorry.
If they want me to say anything
or do anything--
Well, it's--
I'm lucky to have
a high school diploma,
but Mother had pull.
Mother had influence, you know?
And--
Well, I'm sorry to hear
about her passing.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You been handling that
okay?
Not really.
Uh, but--
What about any other friends
or family that you've got
for support?
No.
Well, look,
you just keep in touch with--
And look,
to tell you the truth,
I haven't been reading
your e-mails...
'cause I assumed
they're more than likely
to be bad news.
Oh, yeah.
Especially nowadays.
Like a bill...
or something from the I.R.S.,
so I don't open 'em.
So I never looked
at any of your e-mails,
but if you send me
another e-mail after today,
I'll read it.
Okay.
'Cause we're all friends now.
Right.
[ Landis ]
I have no delusions
about being...
any sort of a serious artist,
let alone a great one.
No delusions whatsoever
about that sort of thing.
But I'd kind of like
to sort of be one.
[ Alarm Honks ]
I might say it gives you
a sense of purpose,
but that sounds pretentious.
We all like to feel useful.
Whatever ability
we happen to have,
we like to make use of it.
So everyone's different,
and everyone's the same.
And there's
three million stories
in the naked city,
and this has been one of 'em.
And that's--
That's kind of
the best way I can put it.
[ Elevator Bell Dings ]
I knew I wouldn't continue
being a philanthropist.
[ Door Closes ]
And it's just as well, probably,
because I would
from time to time
get carried away.
I happened upon this idea--
returning missing
or stolen artwork...
to their... owners.
Things I could actually do,
which would be small drawings
and small paintings.
After all, a book that's had
a page torn out of it--
It is nice to be able
to put the page back in.
[ Elevator Bell Dings ]
I'd like to go to
73rd and Park Avenue.