The Art of the Con

The Most Notorious Fakes, Frauds, and Forgeries in the Art World

By: Anthony M. Amore

Narrated by: Michael Johnson

Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Art scams are today so numerous that the specter of a lawsuit arising from a mistaken attribution has scared a number of experts away from the business of authentication and forgery, and with good reason. Art scams are increasingly convincing and involve incredible sums of money. The cons perpetrated by unscrupulous art dealers and their accomplices are proportionately elaborate.

Anthony M. Amore's The Art of the Con tells the stories of some of history's most notorious yet untold cons. They involve stolen art hidden for decades; elaborate ruses that involve the Nazis and allegedly plundered art; the theft of a conceptual prototype from a well-known artist by his assistant to be used later to create copies; the use of online and television auction sites to scam buyers out of millions; and other confidence scams incredible not only for their boldness but more so because they actually worked. Using interviews and newly released court documents, The Art of the Con will also take the listener into the investigations that led to the capture of the con men, who oftentimes return back to the world of crime. For some, it's an irresistible urge because their innocent dupes all share something in common: They want to believe.

©2015 Anthony M. Amore (P)2017 Novel Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

“An engrossing read about brazen, artful scams.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Amore is privy to more information on the subject of forgeries than the average art collector or dealer, and he shares a number of those stories in this engrossing account...a bracing and highly informative assessment of a very real problem, sure to resonate with art fans and curators alike.” (Publishers Weekly)

“A riveting, fast-moving account of shameless fraudsters who wreak havoc on the art world. A must read!” (Brian T. Kelly, former assistant US attorney)

Pronunciation

The author has a good speaking presentation but he cannot pronounce many foreign language words incorrectly. It is very irritating. Margaret N

Catalogue of Art Frauds

Interesting such as it is. Not very compelling. A little more depth of analysis would have been appreciated

Very interesting story but narrator mispronounces

This was a very interesting book, but the narrator mispronounces a lot of words that are important to the story. I found his mispronunciation of the term pro-ven-once particularly irritating. He also mispronounces Maya Angelo’s last name. It’s pronounced An-ja-low. It is important to pronounce words correctly if you are going to be a narrator.

Poor Narration, but An Interesting Listen

Despite the narration, which is marred by poor pronunciation of artists and methods, I enjoyed the book and was very surprised at the easy sentences these cons received after they did huge damage to people and to art. I’m amazed at the talent that people waste.

fascinating insight

Stories about forgers intrigue me. Each chapter reviews particular "scam". Author explains intricate details on how "con" works, background on con artist & dupes with final result. Good read for anyone. Good example of how corrupt systems get, excess greed turning people into sociopaths. Good look into why all of us capable of being duped. Lot of psychology behind the stories.

Monotone performance

Factually interesting but the narration left something to be desired. It was very monotone and drone like.

Transparency about the art world

I'm a professional art appraiser and I listen to this over and over. Now I'm going to order the book. Love it. Every art lover must read this.

Needs more development

It starts out with the best story and then is followed by 13 more mediocre stories that aren’t told with the pizazz of the first.