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Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art

Provenance is fun — it's the true story of how John Drewe and John Myatt fooled the art world with fake paintings. These weren't ordinary fakes, though: they had incredibly realistic histories and evidence backing their validity up. The story required a mind-boggling amount of research, and at times reads like a thriller — complete with fake identities, sneaking documentation into real museum archives, and social manipulation.

This is a part of my Media Diet. Learn more about this project here.

Ratings

These are entirely subjective, and roughly try to capture my personal enjoyment and usefulness, and how likely I'd recommend it to others. Don't read too much into this unless you love my judgement. Rough guidelines:

A: Top quartile. Changed the way I think about something.

B: Worthwhile. I took away something useful.

C: Didn't hit, wouldn't directly recommend. Likely won't revisit.

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