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Forger↕ | Era↕ | Artist(s) Forged↕ | Method / Technique↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Han van Meegeren | 1930s-1940s | Johannes Vermeer | Bakelite-hardened paint, old canvases, artificial aging | Sold fake Vermeer to Hermann Göring, confessed to forgery to avoid treason charge, Dutch folk hero |
Wolfgang Beltracchi | 1990s-2011 | Max Ernst, Heinrich Campendonk, others | Period-correct pigments, forged provenance photos | Earned $45M+, caught by using titanium white pigment not available in 1914, most profitable art forger ever |
Elmyr de Hory | 1946-1976 | Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani | Master draughtsman, painted in artists' styles from memory | Subject of Orson Welles' film 'F for Fake', estimated 1,000+ fakes in circulation, died by suicide on Ibiza |
Eric Hebborn | 1960s-1996 | Old Masters (Corot, Van Dyck, Piranesi) | Period paper, hand-ground inks, scholarly provenance | Published 'The Art Forger's Handbook', murdered in Rome (unsolved), many fakes still in major collections |
John Drewe | 1986-1995 | Giacometti, Nicholson, Sutherland (via John Myatt) | Infiltrated archives to plant fake provenance | Mastermind who corrupted Tate and V&A archives, partner John Myatt painted the fakes, provenance fraud pioneer |
Mark Landis | 1985-2010 | Various (Picasso, Signac copies) | Donated fakes to museums posing as philanthropist | Never sold a single fake — donated all to museums, committed no crime, subject of documentary 'Art and Craft' |
Shaun Greenhalgh | 1989-2006 | L.S. Lowry, ancient Egyptian, Gauguin | Multi-medium (paintings, sculpture, relics) | Bolton family operation with elderly parents as front, Amarna Princess fooled Bolton Museum, incredibly versatile |
Tom Keating | 1950s-1984 | Samuel Palmer, Constable, Rembrandt | Deliberately included 'time bombs' (hidden clues) | Left intentional mistakes to expose art market greed, became beloved TV presenter teaching painting techniques |
Lothar Malskat | 1930s-1952 | Medieval church frescoes | Painted 'restored' medieval murals from scratch | Painted 21 fake medieval frescoes in Schleswig Cathedral, appeared on German postage stamps, confessed out of frustration when no one noticed |
Alceo Dossena | 1916-1928 | Renaissance & ancient sculpture | Carved in authentic period styles, natural aging | Believed he was making honest reproductions, dealers sold as originals without his knowledge, genuinely gifted sculptor |
Ken Perenyi | 1970s-present | Martin Johnson Heade, Charles Bird King | Antique stretchers, period varnish, craquelure | FBI investigated but never charged, wrote tell-all memoir 'Caveat Emptor', now paints 'in the style of' legally |
Geert Jan Jansen | 1980s-1994 | Appel, Hockney, Matisse | Used original period paper and frames | Dutch forger who sold 1,600+ fakes across Europe, fled across borders, 'the most prolific forger of the 20th century' |
Guy Ribes | 1980s-2005 | Picasso, Renoir, Chagall, Dalí | Expert mimic of signature styles, rapid execution | French forger who claimed to 'channel' the artists, estimated $15M in sales, 3-year prison sentence |
Pei-Shen Qian | 1990s-2011 | Rothko, Pollock, Motherwell | Abstract expressionist style on tea-stained canvases | Knoedler Gallery scandal — $80M in fake abstract expressionist paintings, gallery closed after 165 years, fled to China |
John Myatt | 1986-1995 | Giacometti, Braque, Chagall | Household emulsion paint mixed with lubricant | Partner of John Drewe, served 4 months in prison, now sells 'genuine fakes' legally and appears on TV |
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