7. Wolfgang Beltracchi The Career Forger Finally Gets Caught
The German master forger Wolfgang Beltracchi, was convicted of creating 14 fake works of art purported to be by the likes of Max Ernst and Heinrich Campendonk. Yet the number of work that the forger was convicted of creating is a mere fraction of the 300 works that Beltracchi and his wife claim to have created over their long forgery career. Around 60 of his works are thought to have been subsequently identified. The forger did not create copies of pre-existing masterpieces, instead, he dreamt-up works in the style of mostly impressionist and modern greats over a 35 year period. The couple then sold the paintings out of a fictitious collection that his wife said belonged to her grandparents, and had been hidden during World War Two. Read our article here