The Art Forger

Dec 12, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jennifer by: Random GR find - recommended by MBTB staff as well

Shelves: own, 2012

Fact meets fiction meets art history lesson meets… Faustian deal? Who doesn’t like the mystery of an unsolved heist, which to date is still the largest unsolved art heist in history? Throw in the world of struggling young artists, art collectors, art dealers, museum curators, art copyists, glitz and not so much glam and… Forgers. I was interested.

Claire, an art copyist by day, is a struggling artist working to clear a black mark against her name as a pariah in the Boston art scene. When she get...more
Fact meets fiction meets art history lesson meets… Faustian deal? Who doesn’t like the mystery of an unsolved heist, which to date is still the largest unsolved art heist in history? Throw in the world of struggling young artists, art collectors, art dealers, museum curators, art copyists, glitz and not so much glam and… Forgers. I was interested.

Claire, an art copyist by day, is a struggling artist working to clear a black mark against her name as a pariah in the Boston art scene. When she gets an offer she can’t refuse in the form of her own show in a top-notch art gallery plus a healthy monetary payment in return for forging a well known Degas stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in the famous 90s heist, morals be damned. Armed with the belief she’s doing something wrong for all the right reasons, Claire bites. The twist has been well publicized, so there’s no spoiler here, but Claire must decide what she’s going to do when she discovers the “original” Degas she’s presented with to copy from is a forgery.

There’s a lot for me to like in the book: Shapiro does her “facts” very well. I know next to absolutely nothing about art. I found the parts about techniques, methods, and Degas’ work one of the most intriguing aspects of the book. I can honestly say I learned something new. Perhaps I am a bit hesitant to believe that Claire could pull off a forgery (err, a copy of a copy) that fools the most trained eye just from reading on the internet. It’s almost as unbelievable as me building a nuclear bomb from blueprints found on the world wide web. As Shapiro states in her afterword, the methods that she discusses are, in fact, acceptable methods of recreating period pieces. There is no mistake that Shapiro has done her homework – and probably not all on the internet.

Even when Shapiro shifts to “fiction,” it’s believable fiction. (view spoiler) I’m grateful for Shapiro telling me exactly what was real and what was fabricated in her afterword. I really wouldn’t have known otherwise.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (and the Boston setting itself, for that matter) the best. Isabella and her museum reminded me of Houston’s own Ima Hogg (really – try to say that without grinning). Ima was a philanthropist and lover of arts who converted her home, Bayou Bend, into her own personal museum showcasing American furnishings, silver, ceramics, and paintings – and acres and acres of beyoootiful gardens. Maybe Ima would have given Isabella a run for her money.

There were a few things for me not to like: Some characters fell flat like the crowd at Jake’s, but I could see why Shapiro felt no need to develop them in too much greater detail. I just wanted to know more about them. Claire plays superwoman: A talented painter, certified copyist, Degas expert, prison volunteer, with an eye trained well enough to spot forgeries. And of course, she has to turn up her sleuthing skills to figure out where the original Degas painting was hidden and successfully find it. Then we all get our predictable romantic interest, plot twist, and happy ending.

“We see what we want to see.” All in all, I was satisfied. This was a great, quick read about subject matter I knew little about and yet the story was accessible and not over my head.
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Nov 08, 2012 Wanda marked it as to-read

I am not lured in by the flashing message on Goodreads. I read a nice review of this online.

Here is the review from USA Today. Hope it is okay to cut/copy/paste.

Romance may not be the first word that comes to mind when considering the world of art thieves, but it was an asset in The Thomas Crown Affair starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway (and later Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo). And it definitely plays a part in B.A. Shapiro's The Art Forger, a gushy homage to the love affair that exists...more I am not lured in by the flashing message on Goodreads. I read a nice review of this online.

Here is the review from USA Today. Hope it is okay to cut/copy/paste.

Romance may not be the first word that comes to mind when considering the world of art thieves, but it was an asset in The Thomas Crown Affair starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway (and later Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo). And it definitely plays a part in B.A. Shapiro's The Art Forger, a gushy homage to the love affair that exists between emerging artists and collectors and the works of the masters.

This debut novel, which should appeal to fans of mysteries as well as novels set in the art world, is the story of Claire Roth, a struggling Boston artist who succumbs to a Faustian temptation. She agrees to trade her talents as a master art forger for cash and the chance to have her works displayed in a one-woman show at a prestigious gallery.

Gallery owner Aiden Markel isn't asking her to forge just any painting, it's one he claims was part of the cache of works stolen in the real-life 1990 theft of 13 works from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The theft of works by Rembrandt, Degas and Vermeer remains one of the greatest unsolved heists in history.

Forgery has gotten Claire into trouble before, as has her unfortunate taste in bed partners. But there's no such thing as live and learn for Claire, who readers know is walking into yet another series of bad choices.

The work she's hired to re-create is Degas' After the Bath, and if you're a curious person, you will read up on the 1990 heist and learn that After the Bath is a painting imagined by Shapiro. As an artifice used to weave the Gardner museum heist into the story, it's a tool that works fairly well but also reduces the novel's tension. The reader now knows, whatever the outcome, it has nothing to do with the actual heist. It dampens the passion in Claire's words as she mulls the painting "As if Degas himself is with me ... His genius, his brushstrokes, his heart."

Still, this is a lovely novel. Full of languid explorations of Degas' works, his use of color and light, it's a primer on art forgery and how, just possibly, countless forgeries hang in the world's most prestigious museums, their true provenance never discovered.

That lovely pacing gets shaky towards the end but still -- even knowing what we know about this imaginary painting -- Shapiro wraps things up somewhat neatly, and you wonder what her next novel will be about.

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Apr 02, 2013 Delee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: art, mystery, suspense, owned, reviewed, past-and-present, romance

I will start by saying that my experience reading The ART FORGER was like I sat down to watch the movie HEAT, and for some reason the movie QUICK CHANGE ended up in my DVD player by accident.

Okay maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but it was a much lighter read than I had expected...

I kept looking at THE ART FORGER on other people's "to read" list and was kind of on the fence about it. Then I was sitting down watching Anderson Cooper on CNN, and he had a segment on the Gardner Museum Heist. Even tho...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Gail rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Claire Roth is a young artist in Boston, struggling for recognition for her art. Because of past betrayal and events, she's been dubbed "The Great Pretender" with her reputation seemingly irreperably tarnished by the event and betrayal. She makes her living painting copies for Reproductions.com and has gained a reputation as a Degas expert.

She's contacted by a powerful gallery owner, Aiden Markel to make a copy of a Degas, one that she realizes is part of an infamous unsolved art theft. As she...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Harry rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'll make a confession right off the bat: I didn't give The Art Forger 4 stars because I was blown away by the prose, scene, setting, or characterization. Had those been up to snuff I'd have given it an easy 5. There are some flat characters, relies somewhat on stereo typical thinking about artists and their studios, it sports some letters written by someone else in stand alone chapters which jar a bit with the first person view point (one would assume our heroine would have no knowledge of thes...more I'll make a confession right off the bat: I didn't give The Art Forger 4 stars because I was blown away by the prose, scene, setting, or characterization. Had those been up to snuff I'd have given it an easy 5. There are some flat characters, relies somewhat on stereo typical thinking about artists and their studios, it sports some letters written by someone else in stand alone chapters which jar a bit with the first person view point (one would assume our heroine would have no knowledge of these letters and so these chapters intrude, come across as the author stepping into the novel herself to ensure our understanding).

B.A. Shapiro's debut novel asks one simple question: "what would any of us be willing to do to secure our ambitions?" The setting for the novel is the modern day art world where artists, critics, curators, galleries, gallery owners, and yes, forgers collaborate to create one of the most lucrative enterprises in the world. I mean, really! Today most of us don't bat an eye when we think of sport franchises and multiple million dollar annual salaries being handed out for working six months out of a year. But when one single painting goes for millions of dollars just because it survived time and was painted by a certain individual a slight eye brow is raised and as we lean closer to what appears to be a group of nubile and plump (I won't say fat!)bathers hanging out together we do wonder what the big deal is with this artist (as opposed to the plethora of current day painters). We know something's different, something photographs can't capture, something in the glow of the skin, something about the essence of the thing. But, millions of dollars? Give me a break, right? And what if you're a painter yourself and say: "Hell, I can do that." You proceed to paint it and yet do not secure your ambitions...or do you?

I am a painter myself. The very first time I knew I wanted to paint as a life's ambition was when, as a boy, I viewed the work of Maxfield Parrish, the 20th century american illustrator and fine artist. It rocked my world. The painting seemed to be lighted from the inside. Light didn't fall on it, it streamed from it. Have you ever viewed a kodachrome slide? Held it up to the light and felt the delicious wash of saturation, of color as you viewed it? That's what a Maxfield Parrish painting does. It was a view of the world, but a better one. In my twenties I spent years perfecting the Parrish technique (which harkens back to Bellini and later artist such as Degas) and to this day the paintings glow in my home, though, I don't paint in this manner anymore due to the incredible amount of time it takes in between glazings.

So, imagine picking up what you hope is a decent mystery surrounding the art world and discovering further clues on the very techniques I've attempted to master and discovering a solution to a gnarly problem that has long escaped me (Why isn't there a writer who exclusively authors mysteries taking place in the art world, as for example Francis does with horses and Dunning does with books?).

One of the things I love about this book is its verisimilitude. Shapiro is absolutely correct in communicating factual techniques, but also communicates very accurately the immense satisfaction that comes from painting in this style: techniques discovered in the 14th century, techniques for which most artists today do not have the patience. I know it, because I've done it myself. That she clued me in on a Dutch compatriot, on how to get around the drying time in between glazings will result in my picking up this style again, in my later years. So this book educates, displays a true compassion for the work while it entertains as is the case in the aforementioned works of Francis and Dunning.

The other thing that I love is Shapiro's plot: the whole concept of mysteries surrounding works of art. There are so many things we do not yet understand historically about the lives of various artists; so many paintings still missing after being plundered through war and outright theft. I mean, if a painting can be worth millions than it goes to follow that some would kill for it. Isn't that what drives most mystery/detectives? I mean: it's like walking into a second-hand bookstore with nothing but pristine, signed first editions, jacket flaps in impeccable order, on sale for $1. Right? Though no one is murdered in this one, Shapiro has given us an excellent Who-Dun-It, one that will surely spark your interest in the art world, in art, in what makes a painting beautiful, in the ambition that drives artists to do what they do, as well as what destroys them.

As I said: this book is about ambition.

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Dec 03, 2012 JodiP rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book just pulled me in from the start! I loved the intermingling of true events and people--Degas, Isabelle Gardner, the heist at the Garnder museum--and a ficitonal story of what happens when a young artist is asked to re-create the bathers. The author used a very interesting method of deftly weaving three time periods: the present, three years ago, and the 1890s. I read it overa couple days, including over Thanksgiving day. It was a good, suspenseful read, with a very satisfying ending fo...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Ariel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: art-fiction

This was the first book I read from the cache I purchased at the Miami International Book Fair. I wish I had a chance to read it before hearing B.A. Shapiro speak. After reading The Art Forger I am a fan. B.A. Shapiro gave a talk about her writing process with M.J. Rose, author of The book of Lost Fragrances, another novel I grabbed. I don't know if they were put on a panel together because they both go by their initials but it seemed a good pairing and their discussion was very insightful. I re...more This was the first book I read from the cache I purchased at the Miami International Book Fair. I wish I had a chance to read it before hearing B.A. Shapiro speak. After reading The Art Forger I am a fan. B.A. Shapiro gave a talk about her writing process with M.J. Rose, author of The book of Lost Fragrances, another novel I grabbed. I don't know if they were put on a panel together because they both go by their initials but it seemed a good pairing and their discussion was very insightful. I remember B.A. Shapiro revealing that she writes in a highly successful group that consists of other published authors. She also mentioned that her next book would also be set in the art world. I really enjoyed getting to hear both authors speak and will treasure my signed copies of their novels. Okay, on to the review.

Claire Roth is a disgraced artist barely making ends meet when we meet her. A disastrous affair of the heart has left her name mud in the art world. She spends her time painting reproductions of famous paintings for a company and skating by on very little money or goodwill. All of her past mistakes have make her very vunerable when Aiden Markel comes knocking with an offer she can't refuse. She will receive a large sum of money plus her own gallery show if she agrees to paint a reproduction of a a famous Degas painting. The catch is that is one of the paintings stolen during the notorious and unsolved Isabella Stuart Gardner heist. Markel holds the keys to everything Claire has ever wanted. All she has to do is paint and not ask any questions. The story moves deftly back and forth between the period where Claire is in love with Isaac who ruins her life, the present, and letters Isabella Stuart Gardner writes to her niece from her art purchasing trip. All three stories tie togther in a wonderful way and I kept turning the pages with anticpation until the end.

B.A. Shapiro weaves an engaging tale that combines fictional aspects of the story with factual ones. The Isabelle Stuart Gardner heist is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the art world. This is a fictional imagining of part of that story. After reading this story I would love to get to visit the Gardner museum in person one day. Although the mystery may never be solved as to who stole the paintings from the Gardner we can all imerse ourselves in the art world with the irrestible characters B.A. Shapiro has created. (less)

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May 10, 2013 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: just-plain-fun

First off I listened to this, from Audible. Xe Sands could read me the phone book! She was amazing. Mush like Davina Porter, I will be keeping looking for books by reader now.

So to the book itself. Shapiro does a great job of braiding three narratives together to complement and enhance each other. Rather than detracting, you pick up clues in one stream and then tear through the next to see if the present day heroine will find out what you think you now know.

Also the history and skills involved...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Liddy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio-book

I was looking for something quick and engaging. Bonus that its about art, bonus that it takes place in Boston. This totally fit the bill.

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Mar 09, 2013 Ricki Treleaven rated it 5 of 5 stars

This week I read The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro. This book has it all: suspense, romance, a historical mystery, art, and the heartbreaking tale of a real-life historical art heist. Whew! I highly recommend you read this one, and it is on the Indie Bound Most Wished For List. :D

Early on March 18, 1990, two thieves disguised as police officers tied-up two guards at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and stole thirteen works of art with an estimated value of 500 million dollars. In spit...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Jaylia3 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Based on a real life, still unsolved art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, The Art Forger manages to include more details about brush strokes and forgery techniques than I knew existed in a gripping story of artistic obsession. Claire Roth is a struggling young artist, blacklisted by the art establishment for a perceived crime against one of their darlings. She pays her bills by copying famous works of art for an above board online retailer. Then she makes a devil's bargain...more

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May 18, 2013 Phyllis Sommers rated it 5 of 5 stars

A really wonderful and unique novel. In addition to being an edge-of-your seat mystery, I learned so much about the world of art reproduction and art forgery.

As extremely talented artist, Claire Roth, has trouble gaining recognition for her talent, in order to earn a living she turns to painting reproductions of works from the most renowned Masters. When her up-and-coming artist boyfriend, Isaac Cullion, has "artist block" for a commissioned painting he's to do for Boston's MoMA, Claire offers...more

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May 17, 2013 Jodi rated it 2 of 5 stars

Sorry, could not care if Claire was successful or not. I know we were supposed to be sympathetic toward her, why else for the youth prison volunteerism, but she was too untrustworthy. When I read it, it appeared as if she knew all along that she was making a forgery so that Aidan could sell it as the original but by the end of the book she had miraculously convinced herself that all she was doing was making a copy of a copy and that isn’t a crime. Of course she had her penance of never knowing i...more

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May 08, 2013 Mary Ronan Drew rated it 5 of 5 stars

On the night of St Patrick's Day in 1990 when the attention of Boston was focused elsewhere, thieves entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and made off with art valued at $500 million, including three Rembrandts, one of only 34 known paintings by Vermeer, and works by Manet and Degas. Because the eccentric Isabella insisted in her will that nothing be changed in the museum (nothing!), the empty frames remain on the walls as a sad reminder of what has been lost.

This story, which fascinates...more On the night of St Patrick's Day in 1990 when the attention of Boston was focused elsewhere, thieves entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and made off with art valued at $500 million, including three Rembrandts, one of only 34 known paintings by Vermeer, and works by Manet and Degas. Because the eccentric Isabella insisted in her will that nothing be changed in the museum (nothing!), the empty frames remain on the walls as a sad reminder of what has been lost.

This story, which fascinates the art world still, is at the heart of the 2012 novel by B A Shaprio, The Art Forger. Our heroin, Claire Roth, is a painter who has been blackballed by the art world because of an incident three years earlier that earned her the sobriquet The Great Pretender. The reason she became burdened with this reputation emerges slowly in the course of the novel.

While painting her own works (but not selling them), Claire makes her living copying famous paintings for Reproductions.com, a fictional website, and has become an expert in creating what would be called forgeries if an attempt were made to sell them as originals. She is also an expert on Edgar Degas.

So when Aidan Markel, owner of Boston's preeminent (fictional) art gallery, arrives at her studio offering to give her a one man show at his gallery and a great deal of money if she will do him a favor she is tempted even when she discovers that the favor is to forge one of the (fictional) paintings stolen from the Gardner. She faces an ethical choice. But she agrees.

Watching Claire employ the techniques used by a painter of high-quality reproductions (or forgeries) is engrossing, and the examination in the course of the story of what constitutes truth in art, the development of a relationship between Claire and Aiden, Claire's dilemma as she begins to suspect that the Degas she is copying is itself a forgery keep the pages of this book turning at a brisk clip.

The Art Forger should send readers off to visit the Gardner museum, which is near the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and which I visited as a child when my family would make a visit to Boston every July to see the Red Sox play and to visit the MFA, the Gardner, or the Agassiz Museum at Harvard (to see the glass flowers.) From the street the Gardner looks like a not very prepossessing factory; inside is a fairy-land courtyard with palms that reach almost to the four-story glass ceiling, and gallery after gallery of more than a thousand works of art acquired by Mrs Gardner with the help of Bernard Berenson.

The museum, by the way, admits for free anyone with the name Isabella and anyone at all on his or her birthday. Mrs Gardner's eccentricity lives on.

I first heard about this book in a review by Carol here on Goodreads.(less)

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May 02, 2013 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reader know thyself and most of the time I do. The Art Forger has been on my list probably since the day it hit the shelves. Am I glad I finally picked it up and read it? You bet!

Mystery, intrigue, romance, history, art, there's something for everyone here. The foundation of the story is based on the 1990 theft of thirteen paintings from The Isabella Gardner Museum. Barbara Shapiro paints a tale of the who, why, what to explore a plausible explanation regarding one of the most famous art pieces...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Cook Memorial Public Library rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, suspense

Shapiro offers a story for lovers of art and intrigue and personalities. Part romance, part mystery, part art history lesson, The Art Forger works best as the tale of art and artists, collectors and forgers. I suspect this is my prejudice; the "Gahndah" is one of my most favorite museums. I love the idiosyncrasy and individuality of the place; it is the most personal of collections. I am fascinated by benefactors who wisely and carefully amass collections and then share their treasures with the...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Henderhouse rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shapiro offers a story for lovers of art and intrigue and personalities. Part romance, part mystery, part art history lesson, The Art Forger works best as the tale of art and artists, collectors and forgers. I suspect this is my prejudice; the "Gahndah" is one of my most favorite museums. I love the idiosyncrasy and individuality of the place; it is the most personal of collections. I am fascinated by benefactors who wisely and carefully amass collections and then share their treasures with the...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. THIS SUMMARY/REVIEW WAS COPIED FROM OTHER SOURCES AND IS USED ONLY AS A REMINDER OF WHAT THE BOOK WAS ABOUT FOR MY PERSONAL INTEREST. ANY PERSONAL NOTATIONS ARE FOR MY RECOLLECTION ONLY

On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art today worth over $500 million were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there’s more to this crime than meets the eye.

Making a l...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Yune rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: art-crime-fiction

I'd forgotten what this book was about by the time I got it off library hold, so I had some notion that it was nonfiction when I opened it. The first person narration -- somewhat wrung with indecisive anguish -- quickly dissuaded me of that notion.

Claire's an artist whose career fell apart following a scandal involving her ex-lover, himself a renowned modern artist who has since died. This background intrigued me and I had to resist the urge to flip ahead to the flashback chapters to find out wh...more I'd forgotten what this book was about by the time I got it off library hold, so I had some notion that it was nonfiction when I opened it. The first person narration -- somewhat wrung with indecisive anguish -- quickly dissuaded me of that notion.

Claire's an artist whose career fell apart following a scandal involving her ex-lover, himself a renowned modern artist who has since died. This background intrigued me and I had to resist the urge to flip ahead to the flashback chapters to find out what had already happened.

She's got her own set of present-day problems, though. As she struggles in the dregs of painting copies for Reproductions.com, a gallery owner approaches her about the possibility of illegal work. She's thrilled to discover it has to do with a famous Degas that was once stolen from a museum, and quickly overcomes her qualms when faced with money, her own show at a prominent gallery, and the chance to interact with such a piece.

It was interesting to read about her process and to hear snippets of past real-world forgery stories, but it was hard to buy in to the premise. Claire becomes a skilled forger (not the same as a copier due to additional techniques for fooling people who determine the age of paintings via tests), can authenticate paintings better than experts, and her original work turns out to be brilliant as well (although at first unrecognized, of course, due to the ostracism she receives after her past scandal). And on the other hand, her personality felt a little too real: too caught up in herself, prone to the worries of the young and insecure, and completely wrecked by a false accusation at the juvenile detention center she volunteers at. I guess I was hoping for a somewhat more pleasant main character, or at least believably clever.

The characters felt flat in general; friends are convenient positioned (employed at a museum, a bar owner, a lawyer) and thus seemed to be more like plot devices; they showed little enough depth or real rapport. There's one relationship that develops purely on the basis of the narrator explicitly mentioning sexual tension that I didn't feel at all.

I think this could have all been overcome by a suitably strong ending. But Claire stumbles across the solution (view spoiler) and manages not only to win free of all suspicion, but rise to new fame. This felt undeserving, especially in contrast with the way things turned out with the gallery owner. I'm not particularly convinced their fates should have been so different (I think I read somewhere that the genre conventions for mysteries include: the detective never did it, and villains get what's coming to them; these weren't followed in my opinion, although I could see how others might be persuaded otherwise) and thus I closed the back cover dissatisfied.

Might work best for people who want verisimilitude in their art world dealings and forgery descriptions; for real suspense and gripping writing, I'd keep looking.(less)

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Mar 12, 2013 Doreen rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Kate and Diane

Recommended to Doreen by: Bookpages and Sara P!

I absolutely loved this book. It's a novel which incorporates the actual theft of artwork in 1990 from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The author's fictional characters are believable; from the art copier/forger, right on down to the FBI agent and bar patrons. It is easy to visualize the people and the places being described.

The focus of the story is a particular Degas that was stolen in 1990, along with a dozen other valuable, high-profile paintings. This particular Degas is bei...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Dot rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dot-s-booklist-2013

This is a novel that will be enjoyed by mystery lover with an interest in the art world. The main character is Claire Roth, a young talented artist who has become infamous when she reveals that a master work supposed to be that of her lover and former teacher is in fact her own. She is essentially blackballed by galleries and museums and is reduced to making copies of famous paintings for a company which sells reproductions. She is in fact very good at this and is eventually approached to copy a...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Katherine Jones rated it 3 of 5 stars

B.A. Shapiro, author of The Art Forger–the She Reads Book Club pick of the month–calls herself a cowardly writer. “Some writers sit down and begin a novel without knowing where it will end, trusting the process to bring their story to a satisfying conclusion,” she says. “But not me. I don’t have the courage to begin a book until I know there’s an end–and a middle too. I need an outline that allows me to believe my idea might be transformed into a successful novel.” Which is to say that, even aft...more B.A. Shapiro, author of The Art Forger–the She Reads Book Club pick of the month–calls herself a cowardly writer. “Some writers sit down and begin a novel without knowing where it will end, trusting the process to bring their story to a satisfying conclusion,” she says. “But not me. I don’t have the courage to begin a book until I know there’s an end–and a middle too. I need an outline that allows me to believe my idea might be transformed into a successful novel.” Which is to say that, even after writing five other novels, it took her a long time to pen this one.

The Art Forger emerged from Shapiro’s fascination with a real-life art heist, which remains unsolved. She began her writing career when she left the workforce after the birth of her second child. Unsure what to do after leaving her high-octane job, she posed the question to her mother, who asked, “If you had one year to live, how would you want to spend it?” Shapiro answered, “Write a novel and spend more time with my children.”

So that’s what she did. She now lives in Boston with her husband and dog. You can visit her online at bashapirobooks.com.

The depth and breadth of research behind this story is phenomenal. The best part about it is the glimpse it gives readers into the inner workings of the modern art world (and a few peeks into its not-so-modern past). While technically this was a fine piece of fiction–the story spools out smoothly and the plot provides plenty of interesting twists–I wasn’t able to get into it as much as I would have liked. Creating a bond-able protagonist is a tricky thing, and for some reason this one just didn’t grab me.

In addition, one of the plot devices–old letters from Belle Gardner to her beloved niece, Amelia–strained credibility. It seems unlikely the details revealed there would have been put in a letter from an aunt to a niece, even a favorite niece who was instructed to burn said letters upon reading.

On the other hand, books that blend fact and fiction always capture my fancy, and I did enjoy this foray into the art world. I will never again visit a fine arts museum or look at a Degas in quite the same way–and that is altogether a good thing.(less)

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Feb 14, 2013 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-mainstream

THE ART FORGER. (2012). B. A. Shapiro. ***.
Claire Roth is a painter who has fallen back on painting reproductions of famous paintings for a living. She can’t seem to break through into the art world with her own work. When she is approached by the town’s best-known art gallery owner – a friend os sorts – with a proposition, she has to come face-to-face with a moral dilemma. The owner has come into possession of a painting by Degas that he wants her to copy. The problem is that this particular p...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars

I went to a Degas showing at our local museum last year and this book gave me a warm remembrance of how wonderful his paintings are. I give this book four stars because the detail about art forgeries and intricate explanations of how forgers work is fascinating and I learned interesting things about painting and some great artists. The book was well-written. The characters were less than likeable and I had a strong dislike for Claire and Aiden - what self-absorbed people. Perhaps that is what gr...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I like books about art history, and I've been to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, so I very much liked this book about a young Boston painter who has a "scandal" in her past. She is hired to copy one of the paintings, a Degas, stolen from the Gardner Museum in the biggest art heist (art worth $500 million) in history, that took place in 1990 and is still unsolved today. The painter, Claire Roth, has mastered the art of forging oil paintings, and the reader learns all about using pe...more

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Jan 25, 2013 William rated it 3 of 5 stars

A pretty fast read. This is basically a fairly literate mystery, and the writing is better than many in the genre. I rated this 3 stars because you can't do 3.5.

What's to like? I found the art forgery details interesting, and the mystery unravels at an engaging pace. The sense of Boston is fun, since I have spent enough time there to know most of the streets etc. that are mentioned. There are enough plot twists to keep the reader interested.

Why did I not like it more? Too many characters are fla...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Gayle rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book, by B.A. Shapiro, came to me free due to a comedy of errors. I reported the error and the sender told me to read it and enjoy. And so I did.

I had read a little about the book beforehand, but wasn't sure if I would choose it. After it came to me the way it did, I felt I owed it my best attention. Wow! Am I ever glad I did.

This is one of the finest executions of writing I've read, plus the story is a web of deceit in the art world. A web that will keep you turning the pages from one poss...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Vicky Tabor rated it 3 of 5 stars

Part of my goal to be more imaginative is to read a book a week to expand my knowledge and make me take time to think. I'm doing this because I have become lazy in my reading and want to make an effort to change this. I finished "The Art Forger" by B. A. Shapiro. This is her first book and it has received many rave reviews and made best sellers lists. But I have to admit I didn't love this book. I was very excited about the concept as I love the mystery of art thefts and am fascinated by forgers...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Valley Cottage Library rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm guessing that at one point Barbara Shapiro was a painter. It's not because she can describe the process of classical painting, or the drive to be an artist, or the way a painting can be cleaned - or removed, but because her character seems to have the spirit and drive of an artist. She aptly describes the comings and goings of the art business, with its cronyism, the too-hip-for-anyone gallery workers, the money, the collectors and the black tie affairs. It was this familiar atmosphere, that...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Charlotte Lynns Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

In 1900, $500 million worth of art was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. This is the largest unsolved heist in history.

Aiden Markel approaches artist Claire Roth to paint an exact replica of a real Dega painting that was stolen during the Gardner Museum heist. She agrees to paint in exchange for a show at his gallery and cash payment. As she starts to paint, she begins to suspect that the painting Aiden has brought her is not the original as suspected, but a forgery. She...more

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the art forger	4	26	May 12, 2013 09:03pm
Audiobooks: HighBridge Audio - THE ART FORGER Giveaway	1	38	Jan 21, 2013 01:45pm
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FOUR Giveaways...and COOKIES!	1	40	Nov 05, 2012 07:26am

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