British Art Forger to Get Show of Fakes Under Own Name
A convicted forger who conned the world’s greatest art experts for years is to have his own exhibition--of fakes--a British gallery owner said Friday.
Alan Elkin approached John Myatt upon Myatt’s release from prison in 1999 and arranged a show at his gallery in Warwick in central England. The exhibition is due to open in September but has already sold several pieces for between $370 and $3,700, Elkin said.
Myatt achieved notoriety when it emerged at his trial that he had gotten away with forging “lost” works by 20th century masters for the best part of a decade.
His accomplice John Drewe sold more than 200 of Myatt’s paintings for hundreds of thousands of dollars a time to galleries and private collections throughout the world, some through top auction houses.
Police have recovered about 70 of the fakes, meaning that more than 100 are still hanging proudly in public galleries and private collections.
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