The Art of the Con

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

By: Anthony M. Amore

Narrated by: Michael Johnson

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)

Delightful!

The thorough research is astounding. The pace kept me eagerly listening. Art and crime - what fun!

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.

Con men and women

Good narration. The con people get off with wrist slaps! Ugh please, lock them up!

Great Book, excellent information

Absolutely great to hear but agree that narrator should know correct pronounciation of foreign words or names.

Pronunciation

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