Synopses & Reviews
Featured on CBS SUNDAY MORNING and NBC's TODAYFor over thirty years, Ken Perenyi raked in riches by forging masterpieces, convincing even the most discerning experts that his works were authentic.
Growing up as a working-class kid in Fort Lee, New Jersey, Perenyi never dreamed of becoming an art forger. However, when he stumbled upon The Castle, a large crumbling estate in his neighborhood, he found himself in the middle of the New York avant-garde art scene. Under their mentorship, he discovered he possessed a preternatural ability to imitate the works of old masters, an ability that confounded even the most qualified experts and catapulted him to a life of riches.
Honest, gripping, and astounding, Caveat Emptor reveals the ironies latent to the art world, while telling the dramatic story of how Perenyi managed to pull it off.
Review
"Reads like a who's who of the art world. If you have any interest in how the art business works, is a must-read." USA Today
Review
"Ken Perenyi lived an extravagant lifestyle off his faked works of the finest masters.
Review
"Perenyi's astonishing memoir, , is by turns horrifying and hilarious. Anybody with the slightest interest in painting or deception will find an engrossing read." The New York Times
Synopsis
The true confessions of the most infamous art-forger in American history--a catch-me-if-you-can caper that reveals the inner workings of the art world.
Synopsis
For years, Ken Perenyi raked in riches forging masterpieces, convincing even the most discerning experts that his works were the real deal. His works are so flawless that they are still appearing as originals in auction house catalogs, fine art, design and architecture magazines, unexposed as the forgeries they really are. Growing up as a working class kid in Fort Lee, New Jersey, Perenyi never dreamed of becoming an art forger. However, when he stumbled upon The Castle, a large crumbling estate in his neighborhood, he found himself in the middle of the New York avant-garde art scene. Under their mentorship, he discovered he possessed a preternatural ability to copy the works of old masters, an ability that confounded even the most qualified experts and catapulted him to a life of riches. Honest, gripping and astounding, Caveat Emptor reveals the ironies and hypocrisies latent to the art world, plus an explanation of just exactly how Perenyi managed to pull it off.
About the Author
Born in 1949 in Hoboken, New Jersey, Ken Perenyi is a self-taught artist who painted his first pictures during the Summer of Love in 1967, having discovered an uncanny ability to intuitively grasp the aesthetic and technical aspects of the Old Masters. A series of fateful events resulted in what was to become a thirty-year career as a professional art forger. Today he operates his own studio in Madeira Beach, Florida.