March 19, 2006

Elmyr de Hory: the greatest art forger of the 20th century.

Conversely portrayed as a master manipulator and a victim of slick grifters, Elmyr claimed no one would ever know how many of his brilliant forgeries would never be detected. In 1969 Clifford Irving told Elmyr's story in Fake! The Story of Elmyr De Hory, the Greatest Art Forger of Our Time. A seemingly straightforward biography, it was in fact another footnote in the life of an equally cunning forger himself...or was it? Seeking to unravel this skein of deception Orson Welles documented the entire circus in his 1974 film Verites et Mensonges (english title: F for Fake!) a film that will leave you more unsure of the truth than before you viewed it, with a nagging sense that the art customers weren't the only ones getting conned in this saga.

  • Worth the read just to refresh the brain as to who Clifford Irving was.
  • Somehow the idea of there being forged de Horys tickles me no end.
  • my number one wish for an original artwork is an 'authentic' Elmyr. he did some very nice Modiglianis...
  • F for Fake is a lot o' fun.