The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case

In May 2016, Jon S. Dellandrea came into possession of a box of the last effects of an obscure artist, William Firth MacGregor. The contents of the box chronicled a major, and long forgotten, trial involving forgeries of the art of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case takes readers back to 1962, a time when forgeries were turning up on gallery walls, in auction houses, and (unwittingly) being hung in the homes of luminaries across Canada. Inspector James Erskine, enlisting the help of A.J. Casson, the youngest living member of the Group of Seven, set out to discover where the forgeries were coming from. Fifty years later, Dellandrea follows Erskine's hunt to the end, uncovering the masterminds behind the forgeries. Lavishly illustrated with reproductions and archival images, The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case unravels the mystery of the greatest art fraud trial in Canadian history. Along the way, it also tells the story of a talented artist whose career might have been so very different.

North America's greatest art fraud case took place recently in Toronto. The role the National Gallery played in exposing this fraud is told in detail for the first time by Dr. Nathan Stolow, Director and Scientific Consultant of the National Conservation Research Laboratories at the gallery. Since mid-September, he has been addressing audiences in Western Canada and now, Ontario, alerting people to the possibility of fake art."

A tautly paced investigation of one the 20th century's most audacious art frauds, which generated hundreds of forgeries-many of them still hanging in prominent museums and private collections today Provenance is the extraordinary narrative of one of the most far-reaching and elaborate deceptions in art history. Investigative reporters Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo brilliantly recount the tale of a great con man and unforgettable villain, John Drewe, and his sometimes unwitting accomplices. Chief among those was the struggling artist John Myatt, a vulnerable single father who was manipulated by Drewe into becoming a prolific art forger. Once Myatt had painted the pieces, the real fraud began. Drewe managed to infiltrate the archives of the upper echelons of the British art world in order to fake the provenance of Myatt's forged pieces, hoping to irrevocably legitimize the fakes while effectively rewriting art history. The story stretches from London to Paris to New York, from tony Manhattan art galleries to the esteemed Giacometti and Dubuffet associations, to the archives at the Tate Gallery. This enormous swindle resulted in the introduction of at least two hundred forged paintings, some of them breathtakingly good and most of them selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many of these fakes are still out in the world, considered genuine and hung prominently in private houses, large galleries, and prestigious museums. And the sacred archives, undermined by John Drewe, remain tainted to this day. Provenance reads like a well-plotted thriller, filled with unforgettable characters and told at a breakneck pace. But this is most certainly not fiction; Provenance is the meticulously researched and captivating account of one of the greatest cons in the history of art forgery.

Art scams are today so numerous that the specter of a lawsuit arising from a mistaken attribution has scared a number of experts away from the business of authentication and forgery, and with good reason. Art scams are increasingly convincing and involve incredible sums of money. The cons perpetrated by unscrupulous art dealers and their accomplices are proportionately elaborate. Anthony M. Amore's The Art of the Con tells the stories of some of history's most notorious yet untold cons. They involve stolen art hidden for decades; elaborate ruses that involve the Nazis and allegedly plundered art; the theft of a conceptual prototype from a well-known artist by his assistant to be used later to create copies; the use of online and television auction sites to scam buyers out of millions; and other confidence scams incredible not only for their boldness but more so because they actually worked. Using interviews and newly released court documents, The Art of the Con will also take the reader into the investigations that led to the capture of the con men, who oftentimes return back to the world of crime. For some, it's an irresistible urge because their innocent dupes all share something in common: they want to believe.

This is a spellbinding expose of the major art scandal of the century, implicating many galleries and dealers as well as famed artist Salvador Dali. Veteran journalist Lee Catterall introduces the reader to what he calls the "netherworld of art"--a newly-sprung huge industry preying upon amateur art collectors. Duotone photos.

"[P]rovides a treasure trove of information that will engage readers intrigued by but new to the subject of art forgery as well as those with an art or art history background." Booklist, Starred Review Forgery is a provocative presence in the art world that captures attention in the press and inspires books about the exploits of famous fraudsters as well as scholarly articles and monographs. But missing until now has been a big-picture look at the phenomenon of art forgery. The Many Faces of Art Forgery provides a uniquetreatment that features historical highlights, philosophical insights, psychological profiles, economic theories, and legal statutes and cases. Key features include: The story of art forgery from antiquity to the present, including 80 named forgers, the tricks of their trade, and the social forces that ensure the existence of their enterprise. How scientific analysis is both effective and limited in exposing art fakes. Multiple definitions for the term “forgery” as applied to art. The effect on authenticity in legal terms, philosophical terms, and public opinion when an artwork undergoes extensive restoration, or artists hire surrogates to make their works, or they appropriate images from otherartists or styles from indigenous cultures. Forgers’ mentalities: their motivations, rationalizations, and strategies. The ethics of art forgery: from criminality to esteem for fooling experts. The possibility and aesthetic worth of a “perfect fake.” In all, readers will understand the substantial place forgery occupies in the realm of art, as well as that what constitutes authentic versus inauthentic is not always clear-cut, nor are legal and moral judgments about forgery. In conveying this message, the author provides a wealth of information in an accessible and engaging style suitable for experts and general readers alike.

Harold Mortimer-Lamb’s name is in the index of almost every book written on the history of Canadian art, yet his place in that world has never been clear. Photographer, writer, painter, promoter—he was a man of many parts and the ideal patron and friend to some of Canada's most famous artists, including A.Y. Jackson, Emily Carr, and Jack Shadbolt. At the centre of his story are his relationships with painter Frederick Varley and young student Vera Weatherbie, whom Mortimer-Lamb, at the age of seventy, eventually married, when she was just thirty. Profusely illustrated with his photos, paintings, and the art he collected, Harold Mortimer-Lamb: The Art Lover brings into focus an unknown chapter in Canadian art history.

The Canadian edition of The Little Black Book of Scams is a compact and easy to use reference guide filled with information Canadians can use to protect themselves against a variety of common scams. It debunks common myths about scams, provides contact information for reporting a scam to the correct authority, and offers a step-by-step guide for scam victims to reduce their losses and avoid becoming repeat victims. Consumers and businesses can consult The Little Black Book of Scams to avoid falling victim to social media and mobile phone scams, fake charities and lotteries, dating and romance scams, and many other schemes used to defraud Canadians of their money and personal information.

Ever wonder how to distinguish a real work of art from a fake? Intrigued about how great masterpieces are duplicated with such skill they are taken for the originals? In this remarkable account, the man currently considered the unchallenged master of art fraud reveals the secrets of his trade. Alin Marthouret has lived his life in two worlds--the world of art and the world of crime. "Art Fraud begins with a breathtaking reenactment of his first arrest, proceeds to the intriguing story of how five years in jail led to a glamorous, albeit illegal, career, but mainly focuses on the techniques and knowledge that enabled him to become the most successful forger of our time. Marthouret refers to himself modestly as a "copyist." His book describes a genius. First, there is his own amazing skill as an artist, On nearly every page, he shares his deep and genuine devotion to the art and artists he reproduced. "The painter is the soul's pharmacist," he writes. "He cares for its wounds and allows it to see life in a different light." His forgery, Marthouret feels, allowed him to "sow the love of art." Marthouret also reveals himself as the consummate impersonator. "How many men am I capable of being? he asks. Thus, after researching each artist, he was able to transform himself into the persona he studied. Modigliani ("Modi"). Gauguin, and van Gogh were his special favorites, and several chapters each are devoted to their attributes and what it was like to be them. Lastly, Marthouret was a precocious student of the criminal world and the criminal mind. In "Art Fraud, he reflects on why forgeries sell and describes how the market in them works. From his humble beginnings as a shoplifter, Marthouretproduced an incredible portfolio of over 4,000 fake works of art. While he is most closely identified with the Fauvists, his repertoire is broad. Besides the three impressionists cited, chapters of his book are devoted to Gerome, Toulouse-Lautrec, Chagall, Turner, Monet, de Stael, Dufy, Klimt, Derain, Vuillard, and Matisse. "Art Fraud reveals Marthouret's intimate understanding of both the techniques and the psyches of these great artists. Illustrating the text is a vivid, 16-page 4-color insert showing approximately 30 reproductions of the author's work.