A Legendary Con Artist of 12 Trillion Dollars

[theagnes]

Master Forger of Modern Art: ELMYR de HORY

Hi all :)
I'm a newbie Steemian and was debating what should my post be like...
Though I'm not an expert at art history, it seems that people are drawn to this subject when I talk about hidden, undiscovered stories behind the art scene. _{(as I was, too.)}
I decided to share the story of a well-respected and prolific forger of modern art.

_{Source: ArtRoster}

First off, let's start by defining what art forgery is, as it is important to make distinctions to gain a better understanding of the subject. 

• Imitation: creating works of other artists or copying the style of another artist, usually as practice (seen as a great artistic challenge in old days like Renaissance - rebirth)
• Forgery: creating and selling of works of other artists with deliberate intention to deceive; imitations offered as originals, usually for profit

There's a fine line between the two that makes one far notorious than another. If a painter mimicked the famous Picasso's drawing to learn from his style, it's an imitation. However, let's say he suffered from financial hardship and and sells the painting as it's the genuine work of Picasso, the act immediately turns into forgery, a crime.

Now, let's visit the life of an artist who turns into a forger for a drawing of style that resembled Picasso.

Elmyr de Hory - Who is He?

12 trillion dollars!

I can drink more than 2 trillion caramel macchiato from Starbucks, 12 billion iPhone's, and may be able to purchase several buildings in the heart of NYC. Probably don't have to worry about money for the rest of my life. _{(However, not all of this money went into the forger's pocket. More details below.)}

This is the story of Elmyr de Hory (1906-1976), a Hungarian painter and art forger, who created forgeries of Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, Renoir, Monet, Degas, and more with impressive techniques and amazing talent. It is estimated that he introduced more than 1,000 paintings into the art market.

_{Elmyr de Hory (1906-1976), Source: GettyImages}

POP QUIZ! 😎👀🎔👀
Can you identify which one is a forgery?

_{Source: Wikimedia}

_{Source: artdiscover}

 

_{The answer is RIGHT! Right one is a forged artwork by Elmyr de Hory.
The left side is the original painting of Amadeo Modigliani, <Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne in a Large Hat, c.1918>.}

Facts about His Life

1. Elmyr de Hory did not start his career with intention to deceive. His career in forgery began one day in 1946 on a street of Paris. He tried to make a living by selling his paintings. Lady Malcolm Campbell bought one of his drawings which she mistook for a Picasso. He decides to sell fake copies of paintings to resolve his financial matters. He expanded his market to New York, California, all over America and Europe. Elmyr steps into the life as a world-renowned professional art forger.

2. Unlike other con artists, Elmyr de Hory never signed any paintings of original artist, but rather left his own signatures 'Elmyr' on the back of its canvas. He claims that the signatures signed much later than the painting, possibly by the art dealers. Then, should it be called a forgery? Since imitating the style of another artist is not against the law. (However, selling the artwork and profiting from it is.)

_{De Hory in the style of Matisse <Odalisque>,
Source: Phaidon}

_{Henri Matisse <Odalisque, c.1937>
Source: WikiArt}

 

3.  Elmyr sold hundreds of paintings in the United States. He was able to mimick the style and brush strokes of many European impressionists that Americans loved. However, his forgeries were exposed to the F.B.I, and he flees to Ibiza, Spain. Elmyr continues to paint forgeries and receives a monthly salary of $400 from his art dealer, Fernand Legros, whereas Legros sneaked hundreds of thousands of dollars into his pocket. No one knows the exact figures however, it is estimated to be nearly 12 trillion dollars that Legros took by selling Elmyr's paintings. _(holy....!)

4. Elmyr de Hory becomes widely known as one of the most notorious forgers to the world. An American novelist and reporter, Clifford Irving, writes de Hory's biography, Fake! (1969), under the painter's request. Elmyr's story was also filmed in O. Welles' documentary, F for Fake (1974). , which itself was later discovered to be fake.

5. In August of 1968, Elmyr was sentenced for 2 months in prison as their business was unmasked. Because he did not falsify signatures of the original artist, he was never convicted of direct forgery. Elmyr overdosed sleeping pills and ended his life on December 1976. His name became so popular that even fakes of Elmyr's forgeries appeared on the market after his death. His masterpieces were seen as an exhibit in several museums and draws thousands of visitors to the museum.

❝
If you hang them in a museum,
and if you have to hang them long enough there, it becomes real.
?Elmyr de Hory
❞

_{De Hory in the style of Gauguin <Women on a Veranda>, Source: artdiscover}

_{Paul Gauguin <Siesta, c.1893>
Source: Gauguin.org}

 

Elmyr had high confidence and pride over his artworks that museums never rejected to buy his paintings and they couldn't tell the difference of what is real. He always had an illusion that he never broke a law and the world took advantage of him. If someone said that he had taken advantage of the people, he would be horrified.

In Welles' film, Elmyr poses a question that what made his paintings inferior to the actual paintings because they were always appreciated when people believed it was real. Stories like this arouses a lot of questions and makes us to think deeper about what is right or ethical. 

What do you all think? :)

🎔🎔

Got an idea for an interesting art topic you would like to see covered in future posts?
Any suggestions are welcomed, comment below!