The astonishing true story of America’s most accomplished art forger: a kid from New Jersey who became a master, fooling experts and eluding the FBI for thirty years. Ten years ago, an FBI investigation in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York was about to expose a scandal in the art world that would have been front-page news in New York and London. … and London. After a trail of fake paintings of astonishing quality led federal agents to art dealers, renowned experts, and the major auction houses, the investigation inexplicably ended, despite an abundance of evidence collected. The case was closed and the FBI file was marked “exempt from public disclosure.” Now that the statute of limitations on these crimes has expired and the case appears hermetically sealed shut by the FBI, this book, Caveat Emptor, is Ken Perenyi’s confession. It is the story, in detail, of how he pulled it all off. Glamorous stories of art-world scandal have always captured the public imagination. However, not since Clifford Irving’s 1969 bestselling Fake has there been a story at all like this one. Caveat Emptor is unique in that it is the first and only book by and about America’s first and only great art forger. And unlike other forgers, Perenyi produced no paper trail, no fake provenance whatsoever; he let the paintings speak for themselves. And that they did, routinely mesmerizing the experts in mere seconds. In the tradition of Frank Abagnale’s Catch Me If You Can, and certain to be a bombshell for the major international auction houses and galleries, here is the story of America’s greatest art forger.
more
A fascinating first hand look at the world of art forgery and how a high school dropout found he had artistic ability to do it very successfully!
This book was well written and quite a story, but it was not the lifestyle I would want to live. The story is biographical and proceeds chronologically. Ken’s early years were not too promising. He did not do well in school and didn’t have much focus, but he discovered an interest in art and had great talent. That talent was put to use for his …
Author reveals the meticulous study that is necessary to be a successful art
forger.
I learned about art, famous artists, forging artworks, and the art gallery and auction business, all in an entertaining, sometimes funny story.
What a great story! And it’s all true — even better. I love how he gives the finger to the art snobs & gets away with it.
Stick with it. You will learn so much about art and selling, and wonderful fakes!
Fascinating book about a highly intelligent thief.
All the interesting things about forgery were glossed over and added nothing to one’s knowledge of the forging process. The author is a self involved writer who only wants you to know what an interesting life he had meeting famous people. It just became boring and repetitive.
This was a fascinating account of a young man who wasn’t considered book smart but who turned out to be a brilliant and highly skilled art forger. The account of his exploits was well written and extremely engaging. He has embarrassed a lot of top experts!
It far exceeded my expectations! Anyone interested in art should read it!
Fascinating!
It as quite interesting story of an artist that had a lot of talent but decided to use it
making fake painting and all the character he met along the way.
What an interesting autobiography of a talented artist…and a gambler. I found it very informative and if were a painter, I’d start applying some of his techniques…but not as forgeries.
This book is not the usual kind of book I pick. But I just could not stop reading it. I truely enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone especially if you enjoy art or know someone who is an artist.
Has this expose’ had an impact? or been ignored ?
Amazing that he got away with the forgeries for so long and never got caught.
Who would have guessed that any of this was even going on in the world of high priced art. An amazing ride down a very unexpected rabbit hole. A great fun read!
An intriguing story, entertaining to read. I loved the insight into the liberal culture of the 60’s and 70’s, as well as the detailed explanations about how the forged paintings were created. The book was eye-opening on more than one occasion, and thoroughly enjoyed.
I was interested in the art forgers story, but at some point it became apparent that there was not going to be any repercussions for the years spent ripping people off. At the end it appeared that he was almost bragging about the fact that he got away with it. It left me feeling disgusted toward the author.
Would have been better if the author had skipped some of his enjoyment of a dissolute life and instead had described more of his technique of how he was able to so closely duplicate the styles of so many painters. However, what he did share in that line was very interesting. His descriptions of how he fooled top experts in the aging of his …
Found the subject matter interesting and was shocked by the naivety of the auction houses. All I can say is buyer beware.