Who Is Elmyr?

Histories of an Art Forger

By: Max Horberry

Narrated by: Max Horberry

Who is Elmyr?

Simply put, Elmyr de Hory is known by many as the most notorious art forger of all time. He believed that if a forgery hangs in a museum for long enough - as he claimed many of his works did - it eventually becomes real. Yet, as with many fraudsters, much of the myth is exaggeration or invention. Elmyr de Hory claimed he sold hundreds of his forgeries in the 1950s and '60s. It’s possible that many still hang in America’s museums today. With the help of his immense talent, he became known as the greatest art forger of the century, and four decades after his death, his old friend Mark Forgy has become the caretaker of his legacy. Forgy has dedicated himself to celebrating de Hory’s talent and fending off imposters on the internet. But in the process, he learned the hard truth: The story you get is not always the story you want. If a fake painting hangs in a museum for long enough, does it one day become real? If someone you loved was not who you thought they were, is it better not to know?

We tell stories about ourselves, about others, about art. Elmyr de Hory’s story is also the story of the art dealers who spent their careers chasing him, the millionaire who discovered his collection was not what it seemed, the biographer who helped in de Hory’s myth-making only to become a victim of his own fictions. And it is about the young American who would dedicate himself to his friend only to find strange new narratives disrupting the story. If a lie is told enough times, does it one day become real?

And so, who is Elmyr de Hory? He became internationally infamous as the world's greatest art forger, but the stories that lie beneath are more bizarre and surprising. When we examine what we value and why we value them, we might find that a fiction told enough times eventually becomes truth.

©2021 Max Horberry (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

The voices!

Great imitation of the voices of the characters! And... The irony and actuality of the story. Great!

Excellent!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very entertaining and interesting at the same time to learn about the greatest art forger of all time. Not a subject I would normally read about, my interest peaked because Elmyr was Hungarian. This is a great read, quick and entertaining, and brings the human side of Elmyr to light with its twists and unexpected turns. The narration was excellent as well!

Faking The Fakes

Interesting story about a master forger in the art world whose works have wound up in art galleries all across the world. I thought it was especially fascinating about people making fakes of his fakes. Quite a twist in the story. The story did make me curious about Mark Forgy, so I ended up researching more about him.

I would enjoy seeing Elmyr's work side by side with the works of the original artists that he faked. Even more so, I think it would be intriguing to see Elmyr's signed fakes beside the fakes of his fakes. It's a short audiobook and worth a listen if this topic is of interest to you. I'm glad I listened to it.

Most other reviewers seemed to like this narrator more than I did.

Meta forgery! Fascinating!

Wow.! Goes unexpected places. Fakes within fakes. can you believe what you see? Thought-provoking. Recommended

Ok, but a cop out ending

I won’t spoil the story, but like many podcast, the authors cop out on the conclusion. I feel a bit empty after finishing listening to it. If you are interested in art theft , pass on this one.