The Cunning Genius Who Fooled The Art World | Conmen Case | Real Crime 

I don't mean to justify crime, but I see these two guys as extremely talented people who exposed how superficial, vain and manipulated the so called legitimate art world is. Of course they did it for their own advantage but honestly, rich people's problem. I am tempted to salute this level of talent.

The thing is that the art dealers absolutely loved the art until they found out it wasn't by who they thought, which proves that some art dealers are full of bollocks. Either a painting is good or it isn't irrespective of who painted it.

As an artist myself....I applaud this man painting trying to support his family. Yes, the art world is a smelly heap of trash these days and the elite have grabbed it as a money laundering scam for themselves. It's sad.

One case where the criminal is more likeable than the so called " victims ".

It doesn't take a cunning genius to fool the art world - it's the only world where you could throw a tomato at a canvas and sell it for millions.

I love stories like these. The art world is just one huge scam in itself, with rich people buying stuff based on the artist's name only, simply in an effort to pay more than some other rich guy.

Absolutely fantastic. Any entitled, materialistic p.o.s. that spends more than $100 on a piece of art absolutely deserves to get scammed. Love these guys. Thank you for your service.

Many of the art dealers who represented the paintings as genuine probably were suspicious but were willing to go along with the scam because they made money from it.

All this exposes is how shallow and baseless a lot of the value of art is. It's a rich people problem and the rest of us don't care for their tears

Harry Enfield, a British comedian, did a sketch show of a man working in an antiques shop in London's West End. Selling utter crap to "savvy" bohemian types at outrageous prices. This reminds me of that. Their crime was to expose the entire Art World as a fraud.

I just love the way these so called experts keep circling back to the point of Drews IQ, as if that lets them off the hook for a massive display of blatant incompetence. Because of their professional lackness to detail and due diligence, somebodies hanging a fake painting they paid a lot of money for. As for John Matt...Good for him.

The buyers were happy, the auction houses were happy,the artist was happy, the document forger was happy,where is the con.

I’m glad Myatt can still paint with a smile. It looks like he was the first person who got conned by Drew.

The art world has been conned by its own greed. 😏

John Myatt seems like a really nice guy at heart. A conman, but a naive & easily manipulated, nice one.

You can't help but like the artist chap!

Nice to see art-dealers and 'experts' being outclassed and shown up as the blind leading the blind. when I hear that a 'dealer' (a person who only deals in 'commodities' and jacks up prices) I just smile.

Reading all the comments below: NOBODY feels sorry for the "victims" here. The art world has been shown for all the world to see that they are fools.

LooooL!!! Love this!! And this is not the 1st or only time the so-called genius art critics have been made to look the ego-driven clueless fools that they are! :'D They don't even need to be fooled by a genius! There have been experiments where they were presented with "priceless works of art by art geniuses," where it turned out the these "geniuses" were, in one instance, an elephant, in another, a 2 yr old baby, scribbling on paper on the kitchen counter, as a distraction to keep him busy while his Mom was cooking the dinner for the family! The so-called highly experienced and -qualified art critics, all gathered in a room, oooh'd and aaaah'd & got very excited that they'd discovered these new mysterious art geniuses! Hahahahaaaaaa! They valued the paintings at millions! It was later revealed to them who the artists actually were! :'D Were they red-faced!! I love that this real genius took them for that fabulous ride! LoooooL! If I had the talent or genius, I'd do exactly the same, just for a really great laugh!!

The money men of the art world NEED paintings to make their money. Myatt and Drew were just supplying what the dealers WANTED. Is good art determined solely by the reputation of the artist and not the work itself?

Scamming money from rich idiots is a noble art. Well done!

Art dealers pretending they're wholesome people are my favourite people.

BTW same goes for the wine world. They had expert wine tasters blindfold tast test cheep wine but put it in expensive bottles. And they were raving about how exquisite it was. Then told it was 2 dollar walmart wine lol

I have no problem with art fraud. No one forces the purchase of these pieces. Bless John Myatt.

Art is just a way to launder money. I am not saying that there isn't some amazing works. Just that for the most part what they call art is garbage.

John Myatt is one of the most important conceptual artists of the 20th century.

Expensive overpriced art collecting is scammers passing money between scammers who know each other and have each others backs. Like an oil slick on water, only it’s money, very slippery money. Ripping them off is the ultimate scam.

I liked the painter, who ended up being an honest painter and (wisely) grabbed the second chance very well. That's the difference between wisdom and intelligence. The convicted guy was far more intelligent , but not wise.

I love the way the “experts”, in retrospect, instantly denigrate the skill and talent of the forger. When they believed the art to be authentic, these same people waxed poetically on how marvellous the “newly discovered” painting by X artist was, and how exciting it was to have it in public view at long last. Lol🖤🇨🇦

The critics, who seem to be mostly self-important poseurs, were made fools of by these two men. How have they handled it? By calumniating Myatt and Drew in order to try and redeem their own tattered reputations. But it hasn't worked, has it? No matter what the criminality of Myatt and Drew, they still made fools of the critics, who were the victims of their own pretentiousness. From self-important critics and overbearing "experts", good Lord, deliver us!

Fascinating story, but the CONSTANT row ("music"?) in the background makes it hard to watch.

Funny how the one person who actually looked at the damm painting and not just the crap on the back immediately suspected it. Proof that art authenticators are just a bunch of cronies who couldn't give two sh!ts about art. Kinda makes me nauseous cause I really appreciate nice looking art. I could care less who made it or what it's worth long as it looks pleasing to me.

I love seeing social and financial elitists getting ghetto winked! It defines poetic justice. 🥳

Such talent, but also a reminder to listen to your inside voice or your gut. Love the Genuine Fakes. That is a great way for him to channel his talent and acknowledge the ability to stay on the right side of themlaw.

This may sound slightly perverse but I probably have more respect for Drew, and what he did than I do for a lot of corporate leaders, and politicians. As for the artist, well, he deserves his success and second chance.

I hope John Myatt is doing well. He seems like a nice guy really and his arm was twisted somewhat. He's obviously very talented. The real deception and fraud was committed by the other guy

Even a posh copper is head of the art crime squad, he’d fit in with all the other posh art snobs

Most art experts know more about "fine words" than they know about "fine art ".....!!!

This tells you a lot about the "experts" at the major auction houses.

The downfall of almost all criminals...they get greedy

Interviewing John Drew with an IQ that high, a good memory & a likeable nature, would have been an exceptional challenge. But him deciding to defend himself was an error.

Lots of scams in the art world. Least talked about scam is that anyone calling themself an artist bullshiting about what they have done.

Sometimes the art is knowing when to quit while you're ahead

The art dealers are arrogant money grubbers who have no understanding or love for painting. As Myatt said, anyone should have been able to see the paintings were fake. All the dealers were looking at were the lables and provenance. Not the artwork.They make millions off the backs of artists by inflating prices and charging huge commissions. That’s what Banksy was trying to say.

I know they are criminals but still ... I'm smiling.

I like Myatt’s openness, and genuine remorse. Glad he’s able to legitimately sell his work now. Wish him well, and hope he continues to sell his stuff. Dre we is a complex character, and dangerous bc he was so good at fooling people.

The trial cost £4 million ! ! One guy served 2 months and the other guy 2 years and got away with a million quid ...Do the Math !

I admire them. They are true ARTISTS.

I watched this with a smile on face.

Drew convinced of his own superiority? No, no. The experts, so called where the ones convinced of their's. What a bunch of self important quislings.

Wow - this story really brought out the trolls and so much more.

A con man will tell a lie for long enough and it will eventually become the truth. The art market is no different.

This just shows how much these Art experts Don't know, I wonder how many paintings people have bought thinking they are the real one just because these so called experts said they were. I bet there are a lot of fake paintings in peoples houses that are told they are the genuine ones.

I think I might have missed something here, but how was it that no one asked how John Drewe was finding/ acquiring the works of art? Surely somewhat suspicious to turn up two or three times every month for eight years with lost masterpieces?

Now that's a proper narcissist, if i ever heard of one... Also, i appreciate the second chance story shown. :)

He was caught because of greed. If he had stopped at a set limit and found another scam they would have walked away clean. Scams against an industry can't go on forever, they have to have a closing date.

The most successful art forger was a man named Elmyr de Hory, who successfully sold as many as a thousand paintings with hundreds of them probably still hanging in major museums all over the world. He periodically tried to sell his own work, but could never really enjoy much success. People he relied on to sell his forgeries took much of the money, and he wound up a person of interest in many countries and Interpol, retreating to Spain. Clifford Irving wrote his biography and he was the subject of an Orson Welles film "F for Fake." He had an uncanny ability to paint in the style of the masters, and claimed there was no quality difference. He also claimed, however, that he never signed the paintings. Painting in somebody else's style is not illegal; falsifying their signature constitutes a forgery.

This is like conning a used car sales man. The only criminals are the "experts"

Most paintings and sculptures these people consider art is garbage! People look at picaso's work in the same light as giving a 5 year old crayons and having them scribble nonsense. Absolute garbage!

John Myatt the seller of Fakes is a likeable guy. I'm happy he has been able to move forward and be a successful artist. This goes to show the Art Critics really aren't as "Expert" on their trade as they claim and deserved what they got! The same can be said for wine! Wine should be enjoyed and drank. Not stored for years on shelves. Everything has a shelf-life, ha, ha,, even people. Eventually if not kept at a precise temperature, constantly rotated, wine spoils turning to sludge or vinegar. In either case, undrinkable. Good wine depends on a good years harvest, the mixture of yeast and sugar, the Barrels and Coopers used, when to bottle, where to store the wine, and how long? With differences in the proceedure to white varieties. Note: All of the original vineyards in Europe were destroyed in the 1880's from a root fungus. This fungus also destroyed the California vineyards in the 1980's. So according to experts, there are no "original" plantings from these Old Vineyards. What saved the new grape vines was a Genetically Altered root system created by Agricultural Scientists. You can now purchase a vitamin from this GMO based grape root called Reservatrol! No kidding! I wondered about all the freaks who are eating all natural if they'd take this vitamin? I digress; People should drink wine they like, not what other people tell them to like based on price or popularity. The same thing can be said about Art? If you like something, and You feel good about the picture, then buy it and hang it up where you want to? Or hang up your children's artwork? Which is another scam in the Art Critics Circle regarding a child "prodigy", although I believe children Prodigy is referred to as musicians and mathematical geniuses, at the time the 60 minute segment aired regarding the three year old, and at the time of airing, four year old artist who had gained much popularity and had already had her paintings exhibited in a New York Gallery, some selling for over $24,000.00! They looked like a four year old splattered paint on a canvas. They looked like the crap only a Mother would magnetize to the refrigerator until the next tempura painting came home from pre school, and the next, and so forth as you trashed the first, not wanting to bea hoarder or have so much paper in an attic or garage to cause a spontaneous combustible fire! Anyway, it turned out that during the 60 minute airing the crew had put up hidden camera's to film the child painting? Which took 5 hours! And this was scrutinized by a child prodigy psychologist who claimed the child, Marla was a cute, normal, toddler. No prodigy. In fact, the painting lacked finishing touches the other paintings had. Including her Signature which at the age of 3 when she was signing them were thin not smudged and the R in Marla was backwards everytime? Okay! Later a Documentary was made to redeem the parents but it got worse! Little Marla is filmed asking Dad to help paint, to finish the painting, its his turn now? Etc... And his Business partner, Gallery Dealer, who was pushing the paintings is along with Dad, the Amateur Painter, set this all up. Very sad story. The Galleries And Art Collectors alike paid tens of Thousands for a 4 year olds college education. While her little brother was neglected. The Art Critics went wild buying CRAP!

Didn't anyone think it was strange that new undiscovered paintings by dead artists were just suddenly 'showing up'?

This reminds me a bit of Mark Landis, the lonely eccentric guy who donated fake painting to museums. He liked the attention they gave him. When it all blew up he walked away Scot-free because he never took a dime. But he accidentally exposed the art world for the ridiculous scam it is.

What are museum archives and how did he infiltrate then without being discovered.

Anyone involved in the art world has been fooled. Beltracchi's replications were far superior to the originals.

The real scam was the 4 million pounds the trial cost.

"If you can draw well, you can paint"....That statement is probably even a bigger fraud about art lol

People want to pretend that the only victims are the rich. But actually by gaining access to the provenance and creating realistic but fraudulent backup documentation the crime extends to historic documentation not just historic proportions. So it's an intellectual crime against the intellectual property of the forged artists. It's a crime against the trust that can be held in documentation and the provenance of items that truly are of value because of their special uniqueness. People can assail the art world all they want but it has value beyond the financial. It has historic and cultural value that should be respected.

The artist here, John Myatt, he comes across as a decent likeable guy, in many ways he was conned and duped himself into providing forgeries, seduced if you will, into making some bad decisions to get involved in criminal forgery, yet he never seemed comfortable with it, it went against his true nature I think....glad he is now making an honest living out of his paintings.

John Myatt is making a fortune now from his paintings, they go for up to £35,000 each. Happy for the guy.

Such a gracious, talented artist and a very clever man. I can't feel sorry for the rich and the hangers on of the art history world. I can't compare what they did to murder or the royal family stealing from the average, hard working person.

In the high end Art Market rich people buy paintings mostly for bragging rights ("we had a new wing added to the villa to show our Picasso/Matisse/Rothko/Whatever!") and/or an investment hoping the painting will get more on the auction block down the line. For a person who loves art and the work turns out to be a forgery, well who cares? But, if the person's only interest was bragging rights or investment, well tough nuts, dude, ya burnt!! 😆

Beltracchi in Germany did a better job in forging art. He used canvas and paint from the original period when the artist was working, so masterful it even fooled xrays and chemical testing. His ultimate downfall after years and making millions was a sticker on the back of his paintings not fully thought through. Beltracchi also gained popularity after serving his sentence and now everybody is proud to own a real Beltracchi.

Slash has a favourite guitar, a Gibson Les Paul. When it was scanned by Gibson, to create hi signature model, they discovered... It's NOT a Gibson. Hilarious, especially being the iconic guitar that saved the company in the 90's when |Les Pauls were out of vogue.

35:35 Folding over the corners of pages in books is a heinous crime all on its own!

The art world needs to find real artist as experts. If not this would continue and put the investment on art at risk. You can memorize all you can but if you never done a lithograph it would be hard to explain to others and to understand yourself. Universities contributed to this misshaped. It’s a shame. I am graduate from Art Studio and Art History, I see many teachers shouldn’t never teach. We need to separate the artist from the art historian, there’s two different worlds. One is the executor the other one is the accountant, see it that way!

it reminds me of when my wife and i mved into an empty house and needed something on the wall never painted in my life i bought a canvas some house paint went in the cellar threw some paint house paint by the way all over scratched it around a little with some garden tools and my new neighbor liiked at it and wanted to buy it as she could see all the pain i was gong through when i created this and told me it was wonderful and a load more arty farty talk so she convinced me to sell it to her for 2 hundred pounds ...next few days painted another cost me about 10 pounds with old emulsion paint took about 15 mins to creat this masterpiece...

The art world is there to launder money.

All the experts and auction houses, what sort of experts are they, when a clever man beat their arses!

John Myatt has enormous talent. I am sure he can paint his own work.

45% in any given museum is either fake or miss attributed to the artist.

Thanks!

Drew in La La land um.... and a Turner prize for a light being switched on and off isn't.

Nice job! Those "experts" would approve any piece of trash without even looking at it! Why do people spend a lot of money on something ugly and probably fake? There are thousands of good talented artists around us. Why don't people buy what they actually like?

Did I hear correctly that the Court case lasted 6 months and cost 4 million?.....just wondering where this money came from?

If the fakes are that good, why not let them go as authentic? Their existence only enhances the Art Market. I say: Give the collectors, speculators, and dealers what they want: More products to buy and sell! Art is art, no matter who paints it! A good fake, is every bit as valuable as an "original"; especially when it comes to modern, and abstract pieces. These two Johns, did the Art World a big favor!

Would anyone be interested in a "lost" Mona Lisa? Just, thought I'd ask...

I remember a very similar case inbthe North West of England, (Bolton I think.) The guy was making antiques and artwork in his garden shed, using things he bought at B and Q!!! He fooled so called experts at the British Museum and other great institutions. He was helped by his elderly father. Their names escape me but I do remember that they lived in squalor. There was a programme on T.V. about them but I don't remember which channel. (I am getting old, lol.) I would so like to see it again.

I'd be arrogant if my IQ was confirmed as 165. As it is, my IQ has been tested as 85.

the real con here is that this guy, John Myatt, served four whole months in prison. and once he was released, he began painting and selling "authentic fake" works of art, and became quite wealthy. Once again, crime does pay.

The real scandal to me is the incompetence of the auction houses who get paid fortunes while not being able to spot fakes.

Art should not be that expensive.

"Con expert" sounds like he's a conman himself! Funny indeed!🤣🤣

so much for experts

Good on the man got to give them 10 out of 10

🤔mm maybe I watch 2 much RU-vid but I've seen this 1. It's good I'll watch again ! 🤣🐨🇦🇺

He conned a desperate poor artist as much as he conned the rich people who had purchased them.

The one snob who says “they’re not even good forgeries” paid 5000 pounds for one, and I only wish it’d been 50,000 lbs.

Shaun greenhaus conned the dealer in the glasses also, so much for an expert

Since when is working for oneself a trait of arrogance?

Chemical analysis would have shown fakes, but was probably too expensive to perform on every painting.