Real Fake: The Art, Life and Crimes of Elmyr De Hory: Illustrated Screenplay and Screencap Gallery
directed by Jeff Oppenheim
written by Robert K. Wittman
2017
He forged Modigliani, Picasso & Matisse, but was never caught? The life of Elmyr de Hory is a bizarre one, and this film dives into one of history's most notorious art forgers, reopening the criminal case, examining his art, his life, and his crimes.
-- Noble lie [Pious Fiction] [Pious Fraud] [Pious Invention], by Wikipedia
-- Outline of forgery, by Wikipedia
-- Literary forgery, by Wikipedia
-- False document, by Wikipedia
-- Pseudepigrapha, by Wikipedia
-- Donation of Constantine, by Wikipedia
-- A treasured manuscript in a college library that was believed to have been written by Galileo is a forgery, university says, by Aya Elamroussi
-- The Artist Who Got Rich Forging Picasso & Matisse: Real Fake: Elmyr de Hory, by Perspective
-- Forgery, by Wikipedia
REAL FAKE: THE ART, LIFE & CRIMES OF ELMYR DE HORY (2017)
Walk into any of the world's museums or art auction houses, and you have good reason to doubt your own eyes. Is that Picasso real? Did Modigliani really paint that masterpiece? The answer may be no. These works could very well be the hand of one of history's most versatile and prolific art forger -- Elmyr de Hory. 40-years after Elmyr's death, Filmmaker Jeff Oppenheim ("Funny Valentine," Universal Pictures, "A Passion for Giving," PBS) embarks on a re-examination of the facts of the case. A cadre of art experts discuss the issue of forgery within the art market at large, while a team of investigators dig into the life, art and crimes of this enigmatic forger. Assuming all previous information known about this forger might be as "wrong" as his art, the team examines the provenance, forensics and connoisseurship of Elmyr de Hory. Together they cut through a myriad of aliases, searching for never-before-revealed archival records, police files and personal remembrances of those that knew him. In the center of it all is a magnificent trail of evidence -- a bedazzling treasure trove of original impressionist and post impressionist masterpieces estimated to number in the thousands and potentially now worth billions. All Fake.
Perspective
presents
A Film by Jeff Oppenheim
[Auctioneer] And for lot 100,
I have an opening bid of $100,000.
One hundred? Any bids? $110,000.
Produced by Jeff Oppenheim
[William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City] The art market is booming right now.
Executive Producers
Pun Bandhu
Marc Falato
[Auctioneer] $120 on the telephone now. $120,000.
[Richard Ellis, Former Art Crimes Bureau Chief, Scotland Yard, London] Let's face it,
it's a feeding frenzy, isn't it?
Associate Producers
Elliot Antebi
Stephane Decker
Glenn Macura
Linda Porto
[Auctioneer] ...on my right. $160... $200,000.
[William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City] The auction houses are having
pretty fantastic success.
Camera Operators (US)
Jason Basso
Antonio Fair
Christian Huguenot
[Auctioneer] ...on my right for $230,000.
[Asher Eldman, CEO, Eldman Arts, New York City] The art market is totally unregulated.
It's rife with fraud.
The art market is totally unregulated. It's rife with fraud. -- Asher Eldman, CEO, Eldman Arts, New York City
Camera Operators (EU)
Stephanie Oppenheim
David Smadia
Assistant Directors
Stephanie Oppenheim
David Smadia
[Auctioneer] At $250,000...
[William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City] You can open the "New York Times,"
or the "Wall Street Journal,"
almost any day, and see some story.
[Auctioneer] $260.
Production Designer
Robert B. Greene, III
[Asher Eldman, CEO, Eldman Arts, New York City] Sort of like the penny
stock market in the 1960s.
[Auctioneer] $260,000.
Graphics & Titles
Jamie Leo
[Asher Eldman, CEO, Eldman Arts, New York City] It's kinda fun that way,
but you have to pay a lot of attention.
[Auctioneer] $260,000.
Editors
Jeff Oppenheim
Robert Reitano
[Richard Ellis, Former Art Crimes Bureau Chief, Scotland Yard, London] The trough is the art market.
The trough is what's selling.
When we talk about that market, we are not just talking about theft, we are talking about frauds, forgeries, and fakes, as well as theft. And from my experience, what I've seen, probably 75% of that market is frauds, forgeries, or fakes. -- Robert Wittman, Former Senior Investigator, Arts Crimes Team, FBI
Sound Design
Soundtrack New York
[Auctioneer] Going once. Going twice. On for third.
On the hammer, $270,000.
[Richard Ellis, Former Art Crimes Bureau Chief, Scotland Yard, London] What you're doing is putting
what's going down well
with the animals at the time.
What you're doing is putting what's going down well with the animals at the time. -- Richard Ellis, Former Art Crimes Bureau Chief, Scotland Yard, London
Music Supervision
Greg Arnold
No Fat Music
[Auctioneer] $280. Back in. $290.
[William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City] People collect art
for all sorts of reasons.
Soundtrack Composer
Mark Berman
[Auctioneer] Do I hear $300,000?
[William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City] And to find out that what
you're collecting isn't real.
Director
Jeff Oppenheim
[Auctioneer] Last chance. $300,000. I will sell.
[Asher Eldman, CEO, Eldman Arts, New York City] I've seen probably a fake a week,
but I don't get caught with them.
I've seen probably a fake a week, but I don't get caught with them. --- Asher Eldman, CEO, Eldman Arts, New York City
[William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City] The concept of "caveat emptor" is alive and well in the U.S.
The concept of "caveat emptor" is alive and well in the U.S. -- William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City
[Asher Eldman, CEO, Eldman Arts, New York City] It's just like your mother told you. If it's too good to be true, it's probably not true.
It's just like your mother told you. If it's too good to be true, it's probably not true. -- Asher Eldman, CEO, Eldman Arts, New York City
[Auctioneer] Sold.
REAL FAKE: THE ART, LIFE AND CRIMES OF ELMYR DE HORY
[Jeff Oppenheim] Like many a good tale,
it all started because of a girl.
Well, sort of.
I saw her across the crowded room.
Her soft shoulders. Her long neck.
Her auburn hair. Her knowing smile.
My friend made the introductions.
They both baited compliments out of me.
I had to get to know her.
I had to have her.
And it was then that my friend told me --
"She's fake."
And that's how my eight-year long journey
into the art, life, and crimes
of Elmyr de Hory all began.
[Elmyr de Hory, Art Forger] Let's say
we could find
a Modigliani made by Kisling [Moise Kisling]...
a Modigliani by Elmyr,
and one Modigliani by Modigliani [Amedeo Modigliani].
We put these three drawings
in front of a
group.
Let's say one
is a director or curator
of drawings
of the Metropolitan ...
one is a self-proclaimed expert,
and one is a great art dealer.
It could be anyone, ...
from Knoedler [The Knoedler Gallery], to Perls [The Perls Gallery],
or any of the great ones
who consider themselves great, and experts.
And if any of them recognize
which one is which,
I am ready to make a great gift
to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York,...
and they can hang it
next to some other Modiglianis ...
who are possibly also by me.
Elmyr?
Let's say we could find a Modigliani made by Kisling [Moise Kisling], a Modigliani by Elmyr, and one Modigliani by Modigliani [Amedeo Modigliani]. We put these three drawings in front of a group. Let's say one is a director or curator of drawings of the Metropolitan, one is a self-proclaimed expert, and one is a great art dealer. It could be anyone, from Knoedler [The Knoedler Gallery], to Perls [The Perls Gallery], or any of the great ones who consider themselves great, and experts. And if any of them recognize which one is which, I am ready to make a great gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and they can hang it next to some other Modiglianis who are possibly also by me. -- Elmyr de Hory, Art Forger
[Alasdair Nichol, Chair, Freeman's Auction] When you look at the famous forgers,
you look at Tom Keating [Tom Keating, Forger] who did
Samuel Palmer and Constable;
Eric Hebborn [Eric Hebborn, Forger] who specialized
in doing old master drawings --
[William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City] A fellow named Beltracchi [Wolfgang Beltracchi, Forger];
and one named Pirenyi [Ken Perenyi].
At a Qian level [Pei-Shen Qian, Forger] --
very, very talented works.
Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art - Documentary Trailer - Now on Netflix
Feb 23, 2021
Filmmaker Barry Avrich (David Foster: Off the Record, Prosecuting Evil) explores how one of the most respected art galleries in New York City became the center of the largest art fraud in American history and was ultimately forced to close after 165 years. Knoedler & Company, under its president, Ann Freedman, made millions selling previously unseen works by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, and others that had supposedly come from a secret collection. But when her prestigious clients discovered they had purchased fakes, the scandal rocked the art world. Avrich secured unprecedented access to Freedman, her clients and other key players for the documentary.
[Alasdair Nichol, Chair, Freeman's Auction] Van Meegeren [Hans van Meegeren, Forger], of course,
who's famous for doing Vermeers.
When you look at the famous forgers, you look at Tom Keating [Tom Keating, Forger] who did Samuel Palmer and Constable; Eric Hebborn [Eric Hebborn, Forger] who specialized in doing old master drawings -- A fellow named Beltracchi [Wolfgang Beltracchi, Forger]; and one named Pirenyi [Ken Perenyi]. At a Qian level [Pei-Shen Qian, Forger] -- very, very talented works. Van Meegeren [Hans van Meegeren, Forger], of course,who's famous for doing Vermeers.
[Asher Eldman, CEO, Eldman Arts, New York City] It's nothing new.
It's been going on
for probably 2,000 years.
It's nothing new. It's been going on for probably 2,000 years. -- Asher Eldman, CEO, Eldman Arts, New York City
[Alasdair Nichol, Chair, Freeman's Auction] All these people were
pretty much frustrated artists
and so they started to copy
other artists' works
and passing them off as being by them.
[William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City] Of course, for someone like Elmyr,
his fakes were so good,
people would see them
and they wouldn't feel the need
to look much further.
[Don Myers, Director, Hillstrom Museum of Art, St. Peter] He's a person who was able to do
a great deal of tricking others,
to a degree that I think
is not possible anymore today.
When you have fakers coming out now,
you don't have them having passed off
a thousand works. You have them
passing off 100 or 200 works.
And I think that's largely
because of the new tests.
Also, sort of a general suspicion
on the part of the art world.
When you have fakers coming out now, you don't have them having passed off a thousand works. You have them passing off 100 or 200 works. And I think that's largely because of the new tests. Also, sort of a general suspicion on the part of the art world. -- Don Myers, Director, Hillstrom Museum of Art, St. Peter
So he's sort of a watershed moment
for the history of forgery.
[Elmyr de Hory, Art Forger] To make first, a point:
I don't copy paintings, painters.
(Henri Matisse)
I paint in a certain style.
It could be the style of Matisse [Henri Matisse],
(Amedeo Modigliani)
or the style of Modigliani [Amedeo Modigliani],
(Pablo Picasso)
in the style of Picasso [Pablo Picasso],
(Raoul Dufy)
the style of Dufy [Raoul Dufy].
[William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City] His forgeries were so good
that many people wouldn't
recognize them as fakes [Kees van Dongen].
(Kees van Dongen)
A lot of people would look at an Elmyr,
(Marc Chagall)
but think that they are seeing a Picasso,
(Maurice de Vlaminck)
or a Matisse, or Modigliani,
or some of the other greats that he faked.
New Scotland Yard, London
[Richard Ellis, Former Art Crimes Bureau Chief, Scotland Yard, London] His knowledge of art was clearly very good.
Technically, he was a good artist.
So he could replicate pastiche,
and other known artists' work.
And he knew enough about the market
to know how to actually sell it.
[William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City] Forgers want and need to have
compelling and believable sounding stories
to go along with their fake works.
In his case, Elmyr presented himself
as a sort of down-on-his-luck aristocrat
whose family had fallen on hard times,
and he was selling off
his collection to help
pay his way.
Forgers want and need to have compelling and believable sounding stories to go along with their fake works. -- William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City
[Elmyr de Hory, Art Forger] Everything what I sold -- very miserably --
the big money what was made
was never made by me.
It was always made by the dealers,
and the people who resold it.
What I got for it was a token.
[William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City] Like a lot of forgers,
he never identified for anyone
all of the works he did.
So we may never know
how many are out there.
Like a lot of forgers, he never identified for anyone all of the works he did. So we may never know how many are out there. -- William Charron, Esq., Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, New York City
[Alasdair Nichol, Chair, Freeman's Auction] We are never safe from forgeries, frankly.
I think a lot of people have
sleepless nights about this.
They really do.
And the question is,
really, "How many of them
passed into museums?"
We are never safe from forgeries, frankly. I think a lot of people have sleepless nights about this. They really do. And the question is, really, "How many of them passed into museums?" -- Alasdair Nichol, Chair, Freeman's Auction
(The Met)
[Don Myers, Director, Hillstrom Museum of Art, St. Peter] I remember reading Thomas Hoving's book
about fakes. And he claims that
40% of all the works that he saw
when he was at the Met were fakes.
I remember reading Thomas Hoving's book about fakes. And he claims that 40% of all the works that he saw when he was at the Met were fakes... The conservator friends suggest that a full 25% of any one major museum's holdings, including things in storage, are not right. -- Don Myers, Director, Hillstrom Museum of Art, St. Peter
(40%)
Things that were offered to him. 40%.
(25% Of All U.S. Art Museums Collections)
The conservator friends suggest that
a full 25% of any one
major museum's holdings,
(35,000 U.S. Art Museums)
including things in storage, are not right.