beach book

Provenance written by the investigative reporters Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo received excellent reviews when published in 2009. The plot set in the world of gallery owners, dealers, art runners, collectors, artists, art dealers, detectives, archivists, including a Roman Catholic religious order, is dominated by the complex lead character, John Drewe "professor, physicist, man of many guises, and the brilliant mastermind of one of the greatest art frauds of the twentieth century". The non fiction story is well researched and describes the (almost) flawless scam unfolding in the three hundred pages book. From New York to Paris to London, like in a great thriller, the suspense keeps the reader engrossed, unable to put the book down till  the last word. There is also unfortunately a body.
The process of authentication of works of art is described in details and the lesson to be learned is that even provenance can be forged.

photographs Flickr Photo Sharing

"Portrait of a Woman", Elmyr de Hory in the style of Amedeo Modigliani
"Fauve Landscape", Elmyr de Hory in the style of Maurice de Vlaminck, ca. 1968