Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art

Good read with plenty of details of the provenance fraud. It would have been curious to know more details about Drewe but … the truth about pathological liars is buried Under lies.

Published in 2009 after the death of one of the couple of authors this in depth presentation of an extraordinary series of art and documentation forgeries ever.Years of research were required to effectively present the deeds or misdeeds of John Drewe who seem to become the characters he pretended to be - a physicist, an heir to a remarkable art collection, a Mossad agent, a consultant to the British Atomic Energy Commission and the list goes on. All the while cleverly documenting and selling "modern masterpieces" to the leading dealers in London and elsewhere.John Myatt - failed painter is swept into this whirlwind of activity and doing a reasonably good job of creating masterpieces by Ben Nicholson, Roger Bissiere, Braques and Giacometti, Graham Sutherland et al.Drewe prepared an "authentic" provenance for each work and then used "runners" to present and sell them to the likes of Leslie Waddington, Daniel Stern, Peter Nahum among many others. Upwards of 200 works were made and sold.Drewe parlayed each meeting and relationship into a probable sale.Eventually he was caught and convicted but it took hard work, chance and luck to bring him down. He was never repentant and was also not out to embarrass the art world. Rather his success was aided by the lax standards where greed is involved.Although it is a tale related to the modern art world it seems more a story of the disintegration of moral and ethical standards in our world. The authors simply and clearly describe the facts and the events but the take away for me seems much more tragic and universal.

An absorbing look at the world of art museums and galleries, the importance of archives, art scams and frauds, one very talented painter, an almost revolutionary con man, and the long-running crime that had a lot of experts fooled. A book in which at least one criminal is so likeable we root for him and another is so detestable that readers may actually enjoy detesting him. It gets a little technical in places--a little caught up in the evidence--but on the whole it's a very good story very well told.

I quickly found myself drawn into this fast-paced story of intrique in the art world. It reads like a novel...except it's all true! Art forgers, scammers, gun runners, museum curators, archivists, Scotland Yard detectives, international intrique. This book has it all.I believe what alarmed me the most was how easily people were duped by the scheming John Drewe and his art forger, John Myatt. Drewe was the real villain in this tale. Myatt was really the starving artist who was just trying to make a few extra pounds to support his kids. He did not start out as a forger but crossed the line into the deceit through the machinations of Drewe.I've read Eric Hebborn's Drawn to Trouble where he took great pains to "age" his forgeries, particularly to techniques, papers, oils, and other materials. John Myatt used cheap canvases and cheaper wall paint! Drewe attached fake labels and planted documents in the archives of some of the best museums in the world. Why didn't he get caught sooner? He lied and fabricated stories about himself, his wife, family connections, and just about anything else that would be convenient to his purposes. There is even strong evidence that his actions resulted in the death of a young woman as he tried to cover his trail.How he managed to fool so many people for so long is at the crux of this story. If you are at all interested in the subject of forgeries and spoofing the hoity-toity of the art world, you will enjoy this book.

I very much enjoyed this book. I learned quite a lot about how the "art world" works. The story is a compelling one, the research seems solid, the writing is fluent and engaging, and the book is a remarkably easy read when you consider how much technical material is covered in it. The authors have a real knack for descriptive writing, making things that the reader cannot see real and solid in the mind's eye.However, there were three things that I found frustrating about the book. First, the lack of illustrations -- it seems as if the book would have been stronger if there had been images to help the non-expert understand the ways in which the forged pieces were good and the ways in which they fell short. Second, I was left with real curiosity about what Drewe had been doing prior to this scheme. I wish that the authors had managed to uncover this information. it seems odd to me that where they are willing to make educated guesses (always identified as such!) about other things, they had no theories to advance about this particular point. And finally, I find myself wondering where the painting Myatt says he did not do came from.These are minor quibbles, and should in no way stop anyone with an interest in art, in confidence games, or in interesting well-told stories from picking this book up and getting a great deal of enjoyment out of it.

I don't pretend to know anything about art; I know if I like a painting, and for me, that is all that really matters. I appreciate the skill of an artist. But, what really intrigues me is what makes art so desirable that it reaches ridiculously high prices. And why, if a painting fools experts, does its sale price decrease through the floor, when the artist has shown just as much skill as the original artist? Quoting a forger called van Meegeren within this book, this sentiment is also pondered by those who have forged artwork:"Yesterday, this picture was worth millions of guilders and experts and art lovers would come from all over the world and pay money to see it... Today, it is worth nothing, and nobody would cross the street to see it for free. But the picture has not changed. What has?" (p.238)Although he was talking specifically about art, this highlights the curious nature of collecting, and what makes one item more desirable than another. What "Provenance" does is to show you how John Drewe recruited John Myatt, and then managed to pull off one of the biggest art cons of recent times. It is a fascinating read, going into a lot of detail - you really do get a good idea of the people as they really are. It is incredible to think that Drewe was able to get away with this for so long. And it raises fascinating questions around art and the art world.

I am so glad I had the opportunity of reading this book. I first heard about the very talented John Myatt via a painting programme on TV, then again in another series. His history piqued my interest, and I bought the book - and it's one of the best books I've read (and I read a lot of books.) As others have commented, it's extremely well-written and packed with fascinating information about the art world both historical and contemporary. John's role in the "crime" was, I believe, a result of being easily-led by a greedy trickster, and John took his punishment and has come out the other side a better person for it. The book really does read like a novel, and I finished the book in record time because I couldn't put it down. I would recommend this book to anyone, regardless of whether they had an interest in art (as I do) or not.

I first came across this story watching a documentary on the Crime and Investigation Network. I could not believe the complexity and sophistication of the scam perpetrated by John Drewe and his accomplices. Surely no one could get away with such an audacious scheme for so long. The whole thing seemed like something from a movie script. I wanted to know more, so I picked up this little volume. This book is a thoroughly researched and insightful treatment of what were a truly remarkable series of real-life events. The writing is engaging and never dull; even when it comes to discussing the finer points of art history; and the colourful cast of characters are really brought to life by the author's literary style. If I had one complaint, it would be that the constant shift in narrative perspective becomes a little wearing. While the approach works when dealing with primary characters, it is less effective, perhaps even a little confusing, when it involves minor characters who only pop up once or twice. That, however, is a small complaint. All in all I recommend this book as well worth a read!

This is a can't put down book ! An intoxicating page turner and a book waiting to be filmed. An astonishing true story which opens up the seedier side of the art world with a fantastic fast paced account of this most elaborate of con's. The big disappointment was the complete lack of any illustrations of the forged paintings and drawings or photographs of those involved, which for me would have given more substance and interest to the book.

Excellent read. Particularly if you like art and it’s history. Unbelievable how the art world could be conned in this way. I enjoyed thinking there are still lots of forgeries out there that no-one knows about.