The Hillstrom Museum of Art presents “Elmyr de Hory—Artist and Faker,” an exhibition of the life and work of one of the most notorious art fakers of modern times. The exhibition, curated by Donald Myers (formerly of the National Gallery) opens February 15 continues through April 18, 2010 (opening reception February 15, 2010, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.). The exhibition will feature over seventy paintings, drawings and prints by the internationally known and notorious art forger Elmyr de Hory, many of which are on loan from U.S. collector Mark Forgy. Aside from works done in the style of others but signed by Elmyr, the exhibit will include genuine works lent by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts by some of the artists de Hory frequently forged. Also included in the exhibition is a fake Matisse from the collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum (to which it was donated in 1970 as a fake by Elmyr de Hory, for the purpose of study).

Elmyr de Hory, born in Hungary in 1906, was trained in the finest international art schools, where he learned a genuine mastery of classical painting. The artist's privileged and aristocratic life quickly disintegrated in the aftermath of war and he became an itinerant refugee, trying to establish himself in Paris in 1946. On the verge of destitution, he sold a drawing to a friend who mistook it for one by Picasso. He suddenly discovered a talent that heralded an unexpected career path. Elmyr de Hory claimed to have created and placed thousands of his fakes—imitations of highly desirable modernist artists such as Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920), or Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)—in museums across the U.S. It is widely believed that a number of de Hory’s fakes are still unidentified in U.S. museums, potential embarrassments to those institutions. In 1976, within a month of his most important and commercially successful exhibition, de Hory took his life.

Minnesota native, Mark Forgy, who met Elmyr in 1969 on the Isle of Ibiza, became a close personal friend and confidant of the artist. Forgy, who has recently written a memoir of his days with Elmyr is also collaborating with filmmaker Jeff Oppenheim (“Funny Valentine,” Xenon/Universal Pictures and “A Passion For Giving,” PBS) to create a new television documentary. Earlier biographies on de Hory include a 1969 study titled Fake! The Story of Elmyr de Hory, the Greatest Art Forger of Our Time, written by Clifford Irving (just before his own forgery, the spurious biography of Howard Hughes). Film studies on de Hory include Orson Welles’ F for Fake (1972), a BBC documentary titled Elmyr, the True Picture? (1970), and a recent film by Norwegian Knut Jorfald titled Masterpiece or Forgery? The Story of Elmyr de Hory (1997).

This exhibition, which is supported by a generous grant from the Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundation, will feature lectures and humanities programs to include:

Public Lectures:
J onathan Lopez, author of bestseller The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han van Meegeren (2009), will discuss van Meegeren, who ranks with Elmyr de Hory as one of the most infamous forgers of art and who is known for his fakes after the great Dutch 17th century painter Johannes Vermeer. Wallenberg Auditorium, Nobel Hall of Science, Gustavus Adolphus College, Sunday, February 28, 2010, 3:30 p.m.

Mark Forgy, lender of the works on view in Elmyr de Hory, Artist and Faker, will present a public lecture based on his recently written memoirs of his friendship with Elmyr de Hory. Wallenberg Auditorium, Nobel Hall of Science, Gustavus Adolphus College, Sunday, March 21, 2010, 3:30 p.m.

The Hillstrom Gallery is located on the campus of the Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue, Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082. The phone number is (507) 933-7171.