Monday, August 17, 2009

PROVENANCE : HOW A CON MAN AND A FORGER REWROTE THE HISTORY OF MODERN ART
by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo

It was the biggest art fraud of the twentieth century. Two hundred new paintings were created in the styles of Giacometti, Nicholson, Braques, Matisse, Chagall, et al, and passed off as originals.
The forger was John Myatt, a single father, struggling for money. He was coerced by a psychopathic con artist, John Drewe, a man with a mellifluous voice who charmed and manipulated everyone around him.
For almost a decade, from 1986 to 1994, these works fooled countless dealers, collectors and auctioneers all over the world.
Even today, many of the fakes still hang in large galleries and famous museums.
Unfortunately, the archives are a bit messy because they were altered to reflect the "genuineness" of the bogus pieces.
Salisbury and Sujo have written a rip-roaring story. A fast-paced page-turner with such fantastic details that you're almost disappointed when you come to the end.
A true masterpiece. The book is, in itself, a brilliant work of art.
Very highly recommended.