BOOKS ABOUT ART I RECOMMEND

It all began with The Forgery of Venus, a fictional book that deals with time travel, alternate realities, a commercial artists madness AND art forgery.  

The Forgery of Venus” is the story of Chaz Wilmot, a brilliant painter who can paint like the old  Masters, and nobody in the artworld cares. Chaz is recruited into a psychological study investigating if taking a hallucinogen promotes creativity. Apparently it does. But, it sends Chaz  back through time, first to his own childhood, then into the childhood of the famous Spanish court painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660).
Soon Chaz paints even more vividly, but he’s both in jeopardy of losing his mind and in danger of being recruited by some very rich and nasty characters determined to use him to forge famous paintings.

After reading this book, I was hooked and started reading about art forgery and theft (which I have previously blogged about).   I decided to just list the books I recommend on the subject.

THE GARDNER HEIST

PROVENANCE, HOW A CON MAN AND A FORGER REWROTE THE HISTORY OF MODERN ART

THE RESCUE ARTIST

THE MAN WHO MADE VERMEERS

VANISHED SMILE

PRICELESS: WHO I WENT UNDERCOVER TO RESCUE THE WORLD’S STOLEN TREASURE

THE RAPE OF EUROPA

Some other books that deal with art, but not necessarily about forgery or theft that were very entertaining:

AN OBJECT OF BEAUTY

SEVEN DAYS IN THE ART WORLD

THE $12 MILLION STUFFED SHARK

LIVES OF ARTISTS

I BOUGHT ANDY WARHOL

I SOLD ANDY WARHOL, too soon

Books I have to be read

THE GIRL WITH THE GALLERY

THE ART CROWD

LEO & HIS CIRCLE

A previous blog I wrote titled Some Facts About Art Theft and Vermeer and Why The Scream Cannot Be Forged. may explain why I love these books so much!

Do you have any suggestions?   I’d love to hear!

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