The Van Gogh Deception

Although the children decide to part ways, their separation is still bound by feelings of support and understanding. Earlier in Chapter 40, Art sympathizes with Camille’s desire to return home after their harrowing experiences. Seeing her at the point of tears, “[h]e knew she was exhausted. It was time to end this” (253). Art understands that Camille has less to gain by endangering her life than he does. Earlier in the novel, he acknowledges to her, “They’re after me, not you” (161). When Camille leaves, Art doesn’t view her departure as an abandonment of their friendship. In fact, he entrusts her with a task to help him execute his rescue plan. Even from afar their trust among each other works with Fraud, Fake Identities, and the Search for Truth and Sincerity. It is, in fact, the ultimate test that they trust each other from this distance, and this ultimate test is what finally exposes Palmer and his crew, demonstrating Trust Among Family and Friends as a Way to Create Sincerity.

Likewise, Camille promises to keep Art’s discoveries a secret and recognizes that he needs to save his father. As vulnerable and worried as she feels, she understands that, in the novel’s words, “[h]e didn’t need to see her cry. He needed to believe in what he was going to do” (258). Camille provides Art not just the logistical support of his rescue plan but also the emotional support that he needs to succeed. Art and Camille’s willingness to rely on each other, again, while they are physically apart, highlights the theme of Trust Among Family and Friends as a Way to Create Sincerity. Although Art depends on himself to save his father, he ultimately relies on Camille to save them both. The novel’s last words are “My friend” (306). Art, “the lost boy” (2) at the beginning of the novel, ends up with both the security and support of his father and a new friend. These new and old bonds eventually lead to exposing the truth of Palmer’s schemes and creating sincerity in the world, particularly at the heart of one of America’s most important institutions.

Art’s recovered memory produces a new vitality and strength in him, and his deliberate walk through the cold streets represent his readiness to confront the challenges ahead. The walk also offers an occasion for him to reevaluate the significance of his “dissociative amnesia” (259), a condition that he often viewed as a state of being “lost.” He reflects on how the threat to his own life and the belief that he saw his father murdered constitute a “traumatic event” (260). Rather than regard his memory loss as a failure or weakness, Art realizes that the condition was his form of protection. He “finally understood why his mind had shut down for the past two days […] Art now understood that his mind had simply been protecting him—his father was all he had” (260). A brief reference to the loss of his mother at a young age provides additional context for Art’s memory loss and the blocking of painful memories. Through his understanding of these connections, Art destigmatizes the different ways that people cope with trauma, and the realization provides him with a path to healing as he continues to recover more of his memories.

In the final chapter, Art’s father provides a social commentary on why Palmer’s scheme to sell hundreds of forged paintings could have succeeded. In contrast to the emotional and cultural significance of art in the novel’s theme of The Transformative Power of Art for Oneself and One’s World, artwork can also function as a status symbol for the wealthy. Palmer’s clientele potentially included not just cultural institutions but also affluent private citizens. Hicks suggests the connection between the museum and the elite early in the novel when he describes how Yoon, the museum’s executive assistant, frequently “met celebrities, politicians, and wealthy socialites. She had grown accustomed to people with big egos” (83). As someone who has made of career of authenticating art, Hamilton has observed the connection between class and art collecting. He explains, “[t]here are other countries and people with unimaginable wealth who would line up in a second to buy a masterpiece by Vincent van Gogh, or hundreds of other painters” (305-06). For some collectors, the cultural cachet of owning a masterpiece can outweigh the authenticity of the work. This is why it is crucial that the novel develops the theme of The Transformative Power of Art for Oneself and One’s World. In this case, art helps to develop sincerity between the truth-seeking cast and for Art’s identity, but it also helps to expose the forgery and the art world’s more dishonest practices, transforming the world into a better place. Genuine art helps people on a personal level and on a global one. The concept of pride and people’s lack of discernment reflects the theme of Fraud, Fake Identities, and the Search for Truth and Sincerity as well. Hamilton acknowledges that cons often work not solely because people may be too trusting, but also because people can be willfully ignorant. Some people may overlook deception to avoid the embarrassment of being duped and the demotion of their social status. They create fraudulent personalities for themselves, become less sincere, as they trust in fraudulent art solely to enhance their status.