Fake! The Story of Elmyr de Hory, the Greatest Art Forger of Our Time

by Clifford Irving

Book Club edition. With eight full color plates. Paper label on half title. xii, 243 pages. cloth, dust jacket.. 8vo..

Genres: Art, Biography, Nonfiction, True Crime, Biography Memoir, History, Crime

243 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1969

About the author

Clifford Irving was the author of 20 published books & just released 12 of his works as Kindle/Nook eBooks; he was currently writing a memoir called Around the World in 80 Years.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life really is more amazing than fiction. Maybe…hold that thought.

This book is about the life of Elmyr de Hory, who was born into a family of Hungarian aristocrats before landing in a Nazi concentration camp during WWII. He escaped death through a series of mysterious events and then traveled across Europe studying art and hobnobbing with all sorts of interesting people. Elmyr (pronounced el-MEER) was supposedly on the outer periphery of the artists and writers who frequented Gertrude Stein’s salon in Paris. He relates stories such as sitting in a bookshop in Paris and listening to a reading by a fellow named James Joyce. Elmyr recalls “I hadn’t the faintest idea what he was talking about, but I listened with great curiosity.” Indeed brother.

Elmyr’s dream was to become a famous painter, but the fates seemed to be against him. Along the way he realized that he had an exceptional talent for mimicking the drawing styles of Picasso and Matisse, and a career in art forgery was born. Over time Elmyr added more artists to his repertoire and may have sold hundreds of pieces throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. On at least one documented occasion an aging painter even insisted that an Elmyr forgery was his own original work. To me one of the most interesting parts of this book was Elmyr’s revelations about how he would seek out old paper and canvases or else artificially age paper and canvas to make the con more convincing.

Elmyr’s problem was that he enjoyed living like an aristocrat and thus burned through his forgery money as quickly as he got it. He would occasionally almost get caught and then get scared away from the racket for a period of time. One of these instances involved getting chased down the street by a gallery owner in California, his small frame carrying him as fast as it could while his “monocle flapped in the breeze.” During these times Elmyr would either concentrate on his own art or else do commercial art – which is the name that he would refer to the mundane, flea markety type things that he would sell to furniture stores. At one point he was so broke that he even did some pink poodle paintings, which was a request by a furniture store owner that initially made him harrumph indignantly. I would love to have one of those pink poodle portraits assuming that they aren’t all in a landfill and could genuinely be traced back to Elmyr.

There are some great stories throughout this book, but one of my major complaints is that Clifford Irving seems to treat his subject antagonistically. It seems obvious that Irving did not like Elmyr. There was so much great material to be mined concerning the tragedy of Elmyr being unsuccessful as a painter on his own terms but very successful as a forger, but Irving totally blew it. Especially enraging was Irving’s explanation that Elmyr became a homosexual because his father was absent from his life and he did not have a male figure to pattern his sexuality after. I realize that this book was written in 1969…but good GAWD! This book also serves as a very scathing indictment of the art market during those days, which seems to have been some combination of the games Chicken and Bullshit.

Here is where the truth gets hazy. Typically anyone living outside of the law is going to embellish their misdeeds. Elmyr may have come from a more middle class background, did dozens of forgeries instead of hundreds, and may not have been close, personal friends with all of the famous people that he claimed, but he seems to be one of those people who can lie so entertainingly that you find yourself being more charmed than infuriated. If Elmyr did only a fraction of the things that he claimed he still lived a truly fascinating life.

Elmyr himself claimed at the time of its release that this book was full of slander and tried to sue Irving for $58 million (I picture him saying that figure like Dr. Evil). No one believed Elmyr at the time because he was the con man/art forger guy, but only a couple of years later Irving found himself in deep trouble when it was discovered that he attempted to completely fabricate a biography of Howard Hughes. This incident is covered in Irving’s book The Hoax which was made into a movie starring Richard Gere a few years back. To further muddy the waters Orson Welles came along and made a documentary film in the early 70’s about the Elmyr/Irving connection called F For Fake. A student of shysterism himself, Welles weaved his own yarns of falsehood into the truthy tapestry presumably because it seemed like fun at the time. Trying to find the real truth behind all of this is like peeling away the layers of an onion that has been deep fried in enigma batter and served with a side of secret sauce…or something.

Most likely I responded to this book more enthusiastically than most because this story has intrigued me for quite some time and this long out of print volume was the missing piece of the puzzle for me. To me the de Hory/Irving/Welles story is something that is totally unanswerable yet fun to think about in a way that I find mentally soothing. Basically it serves me like a Buddhist type koan or a “happy place” – something to reflect upon when I’m on the verge of choking the ever-loving shit out of someone at work.

Interesting postscript: After completing this book I googled Elmyr de Hory. Yes, I confess that I may have been looking for pink poodles. It turns out that there are certain quirkier segments of the art world that seek out and honor Elmyr forgeries. There was even a traveling collection that exhibited in a few major museums a couple of years back. Serious collectors have been put on notice; however, as it turns out that someone has been doing forgeries of Elmyr’s forgeries and releasing them into the wild.

[Julio The Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Whatever happened to dear old Lenny{Bruce},
The great Elmyra,
And Sancho Panza?
Whatever happened to the heroes?"---The Stranglers, "No More Heroes Any More"

The great Elmyra is Elmyr de Hory, born Elmyr Hoffman in Hungary, perhaps Jewish, perhaps Calvinist, but certainly the most celebrated art forger of the twentieth century. His life and death by suicide raises the question at the heart of the post-modern condition: In the age of mechanical reproduction who is the author and what is identity? Clifford Irving, the Howard Hughes con man, fake artist and fellow resident of Elmyr on Spain's Costa del Sol, pries into the life of a man who reinvented both art works and his own biography. (Now we're talking about a con man writing a biography of another con man.) After being released from a German concentration camp in 1945 Elmyr changed his name and took up forgery for a profession, at first wisely copying the style of modern masters, such as Mogdiliani , whose authenticity could not be easily verified. His wild success led to his greatest failure. He dared to copy a living master, Pablo Picasso, who flew from the Cote d'Azur to Paris to point out the forgeries. (One art critic insists that when Picasso was asked, "How can you tell they are forgeries?" Pablo replied, "Because I can paint a fake Picasso better than anyone".) Wait, there's more! In 1974 Orson Wells shot his last film F IS FOR FAKE, built around the life of Elmyr, and Clifford Irving to boot, but this might be a pseudo-documentary. (We're talking about a fake film on two fake subjects, both of who faked for a living.) Now for the sad irony. Elmyr had spent time in prison in Franco's Spain for homosexuality, but when the post-Franco democratic regime threatened to deport him to France to stand trial for decades of forgery he committed suicide instead. In the end, Elmyr had authored a great false life, not art.

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not even trying to separate my reaction to this book from the backstory: Irving, a novelist (a fraudster, in other words, because a novel is a pack of lies upon the credibility of which its success depends), here offers a purportedly non-fictional book about art forger Elmyr de Hory (a profession which combines fraud and confidence trickery). Irving’s follow-up act was to himself forge documents as part of writing the purported autobiography of Howard Hughes, which struck me as ballsy, if bewilderingly dumb.

Given this, I spent most of time in the book looking for the places where the wool was being drawn over my eyes. When Irving mentioned that the records of a gallery which allegedly purchased some of de Hory’s fakes are no longer extant, it rang the same alarm bells in my head as the clumsy conman trying to derail suspicion by airing first. When a car rolled down a hill and burst into flame, I was tempted to cry aloud, “Aha! Fiction!”

Unfortunately, the meta-textual aspects of the book were perhaps its most consistently compelling. Elmyr de Hory’s story might’ve made a great long article for The New Yorker or Harper’s, but there’s not quite enough there there to sustain a whole book. The catalogue of de Hory arriving in some city, peddling his wares, wearing his welcome out, and moving on is too repetitive, and Irving’s approach — working hard to convince us that this is fact, not fiction — is too flat, too reportorial.

Irving only flirts with concepts that could have given his book weight beyond de Hory’s personal tragedy. He never suggests complicity on the part of any of the gallery owners who bought de Hory’s forgeries — he only provides circumstantial evidence, alleged queries as to whether the “small, private collection” which de Hory is allegedly liquidating might “happen to have” a work matching the interest of a specific potential buyer. And Irving observes but doesn’t analyze (or even judge) the strange climate that briefly allows de Hory to prosper: new money trying to legitimize itself by purchasing works of art it knows nothing about.

Irving doesn’t even go so far as to shoehorn de Hory into one of the classic plot arcs: de Hory rises, but not very far, and falls, but not very far. Irving brings the curtain down on his book before (but not much before) de Hory brings his own curtain down, after several previous botched attempts. Perhaps Irving even has some slight complicity in that, as the notoriety accompanying Irving’s book must have destroyed the only livelihood de Hory had ever known.

I learned about de Hory and Irving watching Orson Welles’ odd, fascinating/infuriating pseudo-documentary F for Fake, and I wonder if Welles’ interest might have been sparkled by this phrase in the book:

One must imagine swift cuts between shots, rapid pans of the camera and certain herky-jerky quality in the movements of the two heroes

Ironically, if sadly predictably, there is now enough interest in de Hory’s forgeries that they themselves are forged.

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that it is difficult to put down, it reads like a thriller. And if we can believe everything Clifford Irving records (and I don't want that to sound critical but do remember that he was the perpetrator of the Howard Hughes autobiography hoax) Elmyr de Hory is almost unbelievable in what he achieved in fooling the art world. And if it hadn't been for the bizarre behaviour of his two so-called business partners he could well have carried on until he died. It is a truly remarkable story.

Elmyr was a journeyman artist himself and throughout his career as a well-known forger - he copied works by any number of artists such as Modigliani, Picasso, Mattis, Dufy, van Dongens and even Renoir - but he also produced his own works along the way. The only difference was that his own works sold for prices such as $20-$50 while for the masters he produced he would raise anything from hundreds to sometimes many thousands of dollars.

His big mistake was taking on partners Fernand Legros and Real Lessard, who exploited him to such a degree that they became extremely rich while he continually strove to pay his way, existing on the tit-bits that they threw him. In the early days he did occasionally sell his copies himself but later this often caused tantrums by his partners.

His copies were sold to museums, art galleries and private collectors and were more often than not authenticated by experts or even members of the particular artist's family or on a couple of classic occasions by the artists themselves! One such was Picasso, who Elmyr knew as a youngster and while Pablo did not categorically state that the work was his own, he did say that as it was signed by him (a forgery, of course) it must be his!

His story is certainly exciting, for on numerous occasions he was very nearly exposed and had to flee the country in which he was operating and, after much globe-trotting, he ended up in Ibiza, where he was eventually imprisoned. However, he did explain to the Spanish authorities that he had only copied works and that he had never told the purchasers that was the genuine article - he let them decide that for themselves!

'Fake!' reads like a thriller, and is at times as unbelievable as one, and it is a book that once started is difficult to put down, if only to see what daring scheme he could come up with next and to note the way in which the art world was completely taken in.

[Caterina Pierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a class I am teaching on the history of fakes and forgeries, I decided to read Irving's Fake (1969), a book mentioned in Orson Welles film F for Fake. I felt that it was a page-turner, and a fascinating study of a man, Elmyr de Hory, whose talent as a forger and taste for the finer things in life led him into a life of dubious dealings. There maybe is a bit too much Legros and Lessard, the two con men who led to his ultimate downfall, at the end of the book. But it also adds to the excitement as the entire con game goes into a full tailspin. The book was published in 1969, and de Hory lived another 8 years, so to find out what happened to him in the end, one must read The Forger's Apprentice by his companion and assistant Mark Forgy published many years later. The final chapter of Fake is particularly good, as it really rationalizes how forgeries get into the market, what fuels that market, and how de Hory was able to pass off over 1000 forgeries over two decades. Irving wrote this in a flowing, gripping, 1960s style, and it reads like a novel.

[Eric Cartier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed via the University of Maryland Libraries' excellent Interlibrary Loan system, and to be read in honor and celebration of the Orson Welles centennial. Irving and de Hory are the central figures in Welles' masterful essay film "F For Fake", my favorite Welles picture.

[Matt Mansfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Forger on a Forger

(As part of my exploration and development of a senior adult education program, “Artful Dodgers: Art and Artefact Thefts and Forgeries”, I read this profile and learned the story is still vibrant and alive.)

How much of the art you see on the walls of a gallery, museum or someone’s personal collection is authentic, fake, or maybe, a blend of both?

And in some instances, would the original artist or forger even know whose work is displayed?

These are tantalizing questions Clifford Irving’s 1969 memoir, “Fake!”, about 20th century Hungarian-born art forger, Elmyr de Hory raises regarding the just burgeoning postwar 1950s-1960s international art market.

“Since the beginning of his career in 1946 – first in Europe, then during twelve fugitive years in the United States, and finally in Europe again with one trip to South America – he had drawn or painted an estimated one thousand works of art attributed to French masters from Modigliani to Picasso, sold by major art galleries and hung in modern art museums and premiere private collections from New York to Tokyo and Capetown to Stockholm.”

The story follows how de Hory, frustrated at not being accepted as an artist with his own creations, used his skill for imitations to make ends meet on his vagabond journey.

Eventually, he would meet his discovery and downfall through lengthy association with two self-appointed salesmen, Fernand Legros and Real Lessard, who exceeded their own expectations of deception while using de Hory as their unwitting one-man art production factory. All three would eventually be tried and sent to prison, though de Hory was convicted, not for his forgeries, but his sexual preferences.

A late-in-life de Hory colleague, Mark Forgy, opened a museum dedicated to the artist’s work near Minneapolis during 2020, even developing a 2015 theatrical production about his life.

The irony surrounding the book is three years after its publication Irving and his collaborators were exposed for accepting advances from McGraw-Hill for the planned publication of a Howard Hughes autobiography. Irving would serve 17 months in prison and forced to return the cash advances.

The autobiography was a fake.

[Christina Dongowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elmyr de Hory is one of, probably the, most successful known (!) art forger of the 20th century - and Clifford Irving, the author of this biography, is himself a literary hoaxer of some calibre, so I didn’t take everything I’ve read here at face value. But nevertheless or just because Elmyr & Irving are highly gifted liars and raconteurs, this book is a rally fun and insightful read. I learned a lot about the connection between the surging consumer culture from the 50s up to the 70s to the burgeoning market for (fake) art. Irving has some interesting ideas about the structural similarities between the a gay identity being formed by an hostile environment that you have to successfully dupe to have alive as a gay person, and the art of the art dealer cum con man. He even quotes Genet. Although written mainly in the 70s, the book is, fortunately, remarkably short on the typical homophobic al language of the time. It’s basically told as a sort of picaresque story and paints a very sympathetic and likeable portrait of its hero Elmyr de Hory and who he forged himself an identity as an artist.

[Yourfiendmrjones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orson Welles’ “F for Fake” is one of my favorite films so… it was inevitable I’d be reading this at some point.

It is a fascinating story, well-told by Irving who went on to be responsible himself for forging an “autobiography” of Howard Hughes. Which is one of the things referenced in Welles’ film as well as the Richard Gere film “The Hoax.” But ignore that and enjoy being in the presence of someone who must have thrown great dinner parties, Elmyr de Hory.

The only thing that holds me back from endorsing this book 100% is some rather unfortunate pop psychology analysis from Irving about male homosexuality. We have come a long way in acceptance and understanding. It’s jarring to read Irving’s take on de Hory’s sexuality in the 21st century, as sensitive and progressive as Irving must have felt about himself in the mid-to-late 1960’s. Ugh.

Otherwise, enjoy spending time with the twinkling, elfin master of the artistic copy. He would have it no other way.

[Joan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried, I really did.

I've read a few books about forgers, some of them you're amazed by all the work the forger went through for his pieces to pass muster. Some, you're on the side of the detective, trying to find the elussive fake. In this book, I simply felt bad for the forger and how he seemed to be taken advantage of, and at the same time, mad at him for putting himself in that position.

I couldn't finish it, though. In the end, even if the story is an interesting one, if the writing gets in the way of the reading, then the reader starts caring less about the story being told. At times, things like verb tenses grabbed my attention much more than the story did. I read as much as I did of the book since so many people seemed to have given it a rave review, and I really wanted to like it too.

I gave up a little more than halfway through, and am starting something else.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about fascinating characters of questionable virtue. I listened to Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast (Revisionist History, season 5, episode 9) about Howard Hughes & writer Clifford Irving, which is what led me to do some digging into Irving. In doing that, I discovered this book & am very glad I did. It’s out of print, so had to buy a used copy on Ebay, but it was worth the trouble.

What a crazy tale...wannabe European artist (Hungarian Elmyr de Hory) with champagne tastes turns to forgery to support said life style...encounters slimy con-men (Egyptian Fernando Legros & Canadian Real Lessard) who exploit naive forger for their gain...insanity ensues as they dupe MANY in the US & European art markets...ends with the Feds from several countries, attempted extradition & jail time, but not for all.

If you can find a copy, read this book!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely entertaining and for the most part amusing story of the greatest art forger who ever lived...even many of the artists he copied were fooled. His works ended up in museums, books and private collections. It sure does make you question why some people’s work becomes famous and sought-after, while most others remain in obscurity, if all it takes to make something valuable is basically the right signature. And of course many of the artists whose work eventually goes for millions never see any of that during their lifetimes. So who’s really faking out whom? Great story of someone larger than life.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only 4 stars because who knows if it is true?

OK, we all know the writer had some issues with reality. But the story reads fantastically. It really is a page turner! BUT, that said, already one day out from completion, I found a New York Times article about Mr. de Hory's heir --- someone not even mentioned in the book. So again the doubts creep back.

I do however love art stories, so it is a good read. And no doubt, Mr. Irving can tell a story very well. Maybe I should have given this 5 stars. And maybe when I see works on paper at an auction house, or in a museum, even with solid provenance, I should really wonder if the piece is a de Hory....

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story of Elmyr de Hory, art forger extraordinaire from his youth in art school as the child of wealthy parents to his career as a forger whose work was often claimed by the artists themselves. De Hory went by a variety of names and lived and worked throughout Europe, the USA, Australia. His life is so extraordinary that it would be hard not to write a book that keeps the reader gripped. I was though, especially in the beginning, the writing leaves something to be desired. It does improve though as the story takes hold.

[Jennifer]

This is the book that gave Tony Tetro the inspiration for his career as an art forger. Tetro's autobiography was fantastic, and Fake! was good but didn't have as much of the kind of information I was hoping for. It dwelt too much on Elmyr's relationships, with some cringeworthy opinions by the author (but he wrote this a long time ago). I most liked reading about the details of materials used and how they were acquired, plus Elmyr's and some others' opinions about the art world and the money spent versus the talent displayed.

[Ethan Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

F For Fake by Orson Welles is one of my favorite movies so of course i felt compelled to read the book that inspired it all. Elmyr De Hory has one of the most fascinating stories I’ve heard. There is a folk hero element to the way he dashed from city to city continent to continent constantly on the run from trouble, and something so tragic about how despite his genius at forging and his prolific career, he never really profited off his work, at least not like the dealers and galleries did.

[Marc Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good read

I enjoyed the book. With the author’s reputation, I didn’t know if it was all real or if some parts figments of his imagination.

There were times you would wish the main character well and his partners much Ill will.

I didn’t want it to end and the final pages leave you imagining a scenario that’s very fanciful.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fascinating story of how Elmyr de Hory managed to make a living forging the work of famous artists, not only making copies authenticated by experts, but painting original artworks in the style of Renoir, Picasso, and all of the Impressionists.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful real-life crime story, with talented/stupid criminals. And a silly/smug art world, easily fooled. Quite the tale, I highly recommend for the story. The writing is not so polished, but factual. Like a very very long newspaper article.

[Tegan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up while sorting through my library’s art collection. What a strange tale…

[Gretchen Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating look at the mid-century art world. Written like a thriller, it’s very readable, and I found myself rooting for the most prolific and successful forger of our time.

[Henry Harold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orson Welle’s film is definetly better, and it starts to fall off by the end, but man this story has so many ups and downs. It’s a lot of fun

[Rafael Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una historia fantástica muy bien contada que pone al descubierto él mundo del arte y sus mercaderes.
Debería hacerse una miniserie con esta historia (no sé si se ha hecho).

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dramatic and entertaining, Elmyr makes a magnificent character.

[Vic]

rwr review

[David Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read, a story of deception and also artistic brilliance it would make a great film.

[Francho Gallego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very very entertaining, and it comes with a huge Easter Egg: after reading it, go watch "F for Fake", the Orson Welles documentary ;)

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining look at a career forger's life, relationships, and experience in the art world, both as a legitimate artist and as a forger. I loved it. The book is well-researched; the author was friends with Elmyr de Hory (the forger) and verified (to the extent possible) de Hory's accounts of events in his life. De Hory was a global traveler during his forging years, so the book takes us all over the world and describes his interactions with artists, art dealers, and eventually his "partners" (from whom he often tried to distance himself). It was also a very interesting look at art dealing, art experts, and auction houses.

As entertaining a character as de Hory was, however, his life was sad and tragic. I found myself alternating between feeling bad for him and feeling as though he had opportunities to change his situation. He (and one of his despised partners) were both so outrageous that they sometimes came across as caricatures, but the author verified witness accounts of their behaviors, so they were nevertheless believable.

The epilogue to the book (in which the author reveals some details that he couldn't reveal in the first publication of the book) was also very interesting and was necessary (in my opinion) to fully understanding the whole story.

I bought this book on Kindle and did notice some typos and formatting issues with the pictures of the forgeries, but it was still readable in this format.

Follow-up: In the epilogue, the author mentions "legal issues" with his publisher over another book about Howard Hughes. I decided to Google that to see what he was referring to. It turns out that he was accused of, and eventually admitted to, forging an autobiography of Howard Hughes. In the epilogue to Fake!, Irving describes how Elmyr de Hory did not like the way he was portrayed in Fake!. I guess this does make me a little skeptical of the author, even though I don't know if that skepticism is with merit because Fake! did seem well-researched and doesn't seem to be surrounded with controversy. However, I am revising my star count from 5 to 3 because I don't feel entirely confident in the book's accuracy. Prior to reading about the Howard Hughes autobiography scandal, however, I found the book believable. So take these words with a grain of salt.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

After visiting the Art Forgers exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, MA., and having seen Elmyr de Hory fakes, this book served not only as great entertainment, but a fascinating account of the "greatest art forger of our time", an artist who forged masters for twenty years, and circulated a thousand works of art. The author, Clifford Irving, met de Hory when they both resided on the island of Ibiza. I considered this book cautiously, as Irving himself was accused of fraud after he wrote "The Autobiography of Howard Hughes". Considering that many of the anecdotes were related by Elmyr de Hory himself, and his life was so flamboyant it became the topic of a movie, "F is for Fake", some of the story at least might be taken with a grain of salt. It remains a page-turner, about a very unique individual, one whose own art never gained a foothold in the seller's art market, but one who could imitate others to the point where in one case, the artist himself authenticated one of his fakes.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining story of a vary talented art forger and his two 'agents'. Fernand and Raul were not so much agents as bosses. They kept Elmyr on a short string, just enough income to maintain his gentlemanly life style and demanded that he produce more forgeries before they would send more cash. Before that Elmyr did his own marketing in Europe and then on an 11 year spree in the US, milking the museums and galleries in one town until suspicions arose and then escaping to another art market under another name. Thus prompting Elmyr to escape to Ibiza where the authorities couldn't reach him because Spain would not agree to extradition. Hence his dependence on Fernand and Raul, themselves colorful characters as well. The book gives us glimpses of the international art world of collectors, galleries and museums.