Caveat Emptor: The Secret Life of an American Art Forger

By: Ken Perenyi

Narrated by: Dan Butler

Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

The true story of America's greatest art forger!

Ten years ago, an FBI investigation was about to expose a scandal in the art world that would have been front-page news in New York 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 audiobook, Caveat Emptor, is that artist, Ken Perenyi’s, confession. It is the story, in detail, of how he pulled it all off. 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.

©2012 Ken Perenyi; 2012 AudioGO

A fraud! But a very entertaining one!

Who knows how much of this story is true, how much is embellished for the sake of a good tale. Nevertheless very enjoyable.

Fascinating look at a Fascinating Man-

Ken Perenyi is a real artist and craftsman- only problem was that I wanted the story to go on- I want this gentleman to be happy
The technical parts of the story were extremely interesting

Great story, perfect narrator

Super engaging, very well written true story. I found it hard to stop listening. A fun listen for anyone with an art or collecting background.

Fascinating True Account of Brilliant Art Forger

Ken Perenyi is the author and subject of this well narrated true account. He explains how chance encounters combined with his extraordinary innate talent allow him to become one of the worlds greatest art forgers. Interesting on many different levels. Perenyi's talents went completely unrecognized by his teachers and he was relegated to a trade school which was more like a reform school. Learning nothing worthwhile, he had no employment prospects on graduating. He was exposed to the criminal element and somehow was hired doing menial tasks for an art restorer. He quickly showed aptitude and became a self-taught artist. Further random associations lead him to eventually copying famous works. He soon became brilliant and ingeniously learned tricks to fool the worlds experts. I never considered him a true criminal even though he was defrauding banks, art dealers and auction houses of millions of dollars. He is a sympathetic character and handles adversity well. His life is fascinating and well-told.

Fast Paced, Quirky and Fun

Any additional comments?

First I really enjoyed the writing and the narration. I felt that Ken’s antics and the background descriptions of NYC in that 70’s era were particularly interesting. The cast of characters that Ken associated with were almost larger than life types who seemed more like facades (if I was an editor I may have said these supporting characters required more subtle development and back story to be believable) as they appeared to be almost clichés rather than real life associations. As an avid reader who toggles between fiction and nonfiction, I had a hard time telling the difference between the fact and fantasy in this one. Yet the story was so entertaining and I must admit that I was fascinated by the forgery concept that I didn’t mind. If you want a good read and to learn about an area – art forgery than this is a good choice. I didn’t care to fact check and debate whether all this is true or not, I was more hear to suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride.

Caveat Emptor

Not sure I believed every word, but it is a good story of an art forger. Not sure that he could pull off the forgeries today with all the technology, but who knows, maybe he could. The book takes you through a brief childhood and then right into his teens as he began his first steps into forging famous pieces of artwork. Made me wonder how much hanging on the walls of museums are real and how many may be forgeries. Liked the book, the story and the narrator.

A good listen

A very enjoyable story about art forgery. Found his explanations about how he went about forging the paintings very interesting.

FACINATING STORY

Very captivating story! I was amazed at how well Ken Perenyi adapted to his social situations. Also very impressive was his ability to learn about the Old Masters and what needed to be done to accomplish the same look. He was brilliant I’m so many ways how he adapted today’s materials to achieve the old world look.

Amazing true story

Very compelling life as told in first person. His story had so many twists it was a great listen.

A fascinating story told by a fascinating man

Would you consider the audio edition of Caveat Emptor to be better than the print version?

This is a hard question to answer. The audio version is excellent: the performance captures the excitement of Mr. Perenyi's life and conveys the details of various painting styles in way that kept my attention. For an art lover, I think a hard copy of the book would be invaluable because Mr. Perenyi's career covers so many periods of art history and painting.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mr. Perenyi was my favourite character because of his love of learning and of art. I was struck by his genius, his ability to understand an artist, his burning desire to paint, his love of technique, and his ability to move in all strata of society. I wondered if he was really "for real" - but, in the end, I didn't care. I loved being reminded that geniuses live among us. Another favourite character was Jose, Mr. Perenyi's best friend and partner, who died of AIDs. He was depicted as a devoted and loyal friend without peer - a lovely, gentle soul.

Which character – as performed by Dan Butler – was your favorite?

I enjoyed the Roy Cohn character and was fascinated by the way in which Mr. Perenyi's life intersected with his.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely, yes!

Any additional comments?

Read this book for an adventure with some fascinating characters (including Andy Warhol) through some really interesting times; for a story of New York in the sixties and seventies; and for a master class in art and painting. It's a gem.