The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro
This is the story of one of the paintings stolen from the Gardner in Boston over 20 years ago. I have started describing this book here numerous times and have deleted my summary every time. I don’t want to give anything away because the plot takes a number of turns that I really enjoyed and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone.
I can tell you what you will learn about from this book: techniques of master forgers, methods of painting authentication, how art historians authenticate their works and the blindness of experts when faced with conflicting truths. A wonderful look into the underbelly of the art world.
