In Defense of Fakes and Artistic Treason: Why Visually-Indistinguishable Duplicates of Paintings Are Just as Good as the Originals Peter Martin Jaworski Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013 1 Introduction Not everyone can visit the Barnes Collection in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. Some people can’t afford it, others don’t have the time to devote to the visit, even if they have the means. There are also restrictions on the number of people who can park in the suburban neighbourhood, and the Barnes home, where the Collection is housed, is just not built for heavy foot traffic. All of these facts have conspired against the Barnes Foundation, responsible for the Collection – they are in financial trouble. The trustees of the Barnes, however, could pursue a strategy that would allow more people, in different parts of the world, to get to see the masterpieces in the Barnes. They could commission the painting of visually-indistinguishable dupli- cates of the originals, which could then be displayed in different parts of the world. Happily, this should also please the consortium of various interests who are eager to move the Barnes Collection to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. Albert C. Barnes’ last will, which included clauses about never moving the artwork, never displaying it in any place other than in the Barnes building, and never selling any of the artwork, could both be respected, while more interested people can see the works of art. What could possibly be wrong with this plan? We can predict the following response. Art critics near and far would condemn the idea with strong language, accusing the trustees of having lost their minds or, if not their minds, then their sensitivity to the value of originalism and authenticity when it comes to paintings. Newspaper headlines in Philadelphia would accuse the trustees of being Philistines. The critics might explain that it is worthwhile seeing the original masterpieces in a museum, that seeing original works of art has value that cannot be had by looking at posters, photographs, web image searches, and so on. Even visually-indistinguishable P. M. Jaworski (&) Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA e-mail: peterjaworski@gmail.com 123 J Value Inquiry DOI 10.1007/s10790-013-9383-z