From left: DB Henkel’s alleged George Ault forgery, “Morning in Brooklyn.” Henkel’s alleged “Gertrude Abercrombie forgery, “Coming Home.”
Forged in acrylic?
Federal agents and local cops raided what might be a Leelanau County art forgery operation that’s bilked art galleries around the nation.
18 • july 20, 2020 • Northern Express Weekly
By Craig Manning On the morning of Tuesday, July 7, the scene in the dirt-and-gravel parking lot of Faith Missionary Baptist church in rural Leelanau County looked like something out of a movie, or maybe an episode of White Collar: Dozens of FBI agents and members of northern Michigan law enforcement, donning flak jackets and armed and ready for anything, gathered to go over the details of a plan to descend on a nearby residential property. Their mission? A massive raid of a supposed art forgery operation, one that has allegedly defrauded art galleries around the country to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Talk about TV drama. Much is still unknown about the case. Mara Schneider, a public affairs officer for the FBI’s Detroit office, said that she did not know exactly how long the investigation had been active but told Northern Express that it had been “ongoing for a while.” Schneider also confirmed that the Leelanau County Sheriff ’s Office “provided assistance for the initial entry into the property” but noted that the investigation has otherwise been entirely the purview of the FBI. Schneider said that, to her knowledge, no arrests have been made in the case at this time. So far, the most revealing look at the story has come from a Detroit News article published on the evening of Wednesday, July 8. That article named local artist Donald “D.B.” Henkel as the owner of the property targeted in the raid — itself located on East Hoxie Road in Cedar — as well as the primary profiteer of the supposed art forgery ring. Henkel also sold sports collectible sports memorabilia, including baseball bats that purportedly belonged to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig; it is unclear whether these items were fake, or even whether the FBI suspects them of being fake. The Detroit News was able to report on the investigation and the resulting raid after obtaining a copy of the search warrant af-
fidavit for the raid. That warrant has since been sealed by a federal judge. THE MAKING OF AN ART FRAUD At 60 years old, Henkel — who could not be reached for this story — has long been a member of the northern Michigan art community. In 2005, his painting, “A Still Life with Cherries,” became the commemorative print for the 2005 National Cherry Festival. Just three years later, in 2008, another one of his paintings — this one depicting a cherry tree in the shape of the Michigan mitten — was selected as the Cherry Festival print.
The FBI alleges that Henkel began selling forged paintings in March 2016 and moved at least eight forgeries in the ensuing years. Kat Paye, executive director for the National Cherry Festival, said throughout her tenure at least, the winning commemorative print typically has been selected by a panel of judges; she added that she couldn’t speak to how the commemorative print program worked before she joined the organization in 2012. Starting in 2019, the program pivoted to become a student-only opportunity. Henkel’s abilities as an artist extend beyond painting posters: Numerous times over the years, he has exhibited his work at ArtPrize, the Grand Rapids art competition and festival that takes place for three weeks every other fall, awarding hundreds of thousands of dollars in in cash prizes.
