The Conman [Paperback]

Just awesome! Full of interesting fact and detail and many surprising truths about the art world. You can't put it down. It reads like a pacy thriller. Having seen John Myatt on TV with his Sky Arts programme, you can kind of feel sorry for him. He seems like a nice guy who got desperate and ended up the victim of a delusional nutter! Sadly, he didn't make the money from his crimes that his skills deserved, but it's nice to see that he does now. He did his time and he put things right and this book is a pleasure from start to finish.

Buy it, read it, give it as a gift. It's wonderful!

If you like true British crime stories this is the book for you. If there is a slight criticism is that it appears to be written in American no just the spellings but they are giving American expressions and thoughts to quintessentially English characters.

Also there is a running glossary of British expressions and definitions for a foreign audience.
I had itemised this case but it is fascinating

Every trade has its secrets which may not to be immediately obvious to the outsider.

As a non artistic person I had no concept of how experts or anyone else for that matter came to the conclusion that the masters were worthy of the money that people appear to want to pay for them. The answer in a nutshell is that if experts can prove a provenance that is that it really has been painted by an acclaimed master then you can shift the work for a lot of money.

Obviously experts can be fooled in any trade an it appears in art it is easier than most. All you have t do is procure a load of paperwork to show that it has passed through a few well respected people in the profession then somehow it must be true.

Also John Drewe the conman decide that when looking at originals records that non one suspected that someone would be putting evidence in rather than taking it out. He would doctor old catalogues and receipts to prove that it had a legitimate history. The trade was not expecting this to be done so they were not looking out for it.

As a result he could shift inferior art work by showing that it had been through the hands of a lot of experts. This then gave the work cachet which was then believed by the experts.

It proved that these experts could not independently assess a piece of art they had to have provenance which then convinces them. It is a simple con and can work in every trade.

I remember when Robert Maxwell fell from grace literally they explained how he borrowed against assets that he didn't own. He went to one bank and got a loan then used that information go to another bank. The second bank thought incorrectly that the first bank must have done due diligence so lent him more money. It is a basic confidence trick.

I love Dragons Den when someone comes on with some piece of crap and the Dragons looked bored. The presenter then declares' by the way I have sold 100,00 of these pieces of crap to Tescos. They then perk up and offer to buy this stuff.

Again it is the same confidence trick if they think someone reputable wants it then all of a sudden they want it.

The book is a cracking read as you really want to I know how it turns out. Another review said and they are right it is a bit like a magazine article and it is difficult to keep up with all the characters in the story as there are so many of them but there is a list of characters at the beginning of the book so you can refer back if you want to

The main character is John Drewe who thought up the con and assiduously set about cosying up to the art world by offering money and John Myatt was his artist

The conman himself was an amazing character and he would overwhelm people with his supposed knowledge and as a result people believed him. It showed how amatuerish the whole trade is if an outsider with no previous artistic knowledge and no artistic skill can create a con from scratch and take on the art world and make a lot of money.

Drewe found a sales force and one Belman knew nothing about art but believed in the six degrees of separation. If you throw your net wide enough you find someone who will lead you to the perfect buyer.

The detective had a theory about con artists as victims would recall the conman's beautiful delivery as the mark always craved something that was out of reach and the conman knew how to identify the mark's particular longing and zero in on it.

The detectives also knew that con artists take a contemptuous delight in manipulating and making fools of their victims and sometimes will make notes or evidence of how they did it.
They were amazed at the sheer volume of myth and confetti Drewe managed to scatter behind him

Even in my job I know the longer the explanation the bigger the con They repeated the mantra Keep it simple.

The sub title which I have used as the title of this review sums it all up How one man figured out the art world and fooled the experts.

An easy and fascinating read about a brilliant and mad man. Still so many gaps in his life story that we shall probably never understand. When the police arrive to arrest one of his poor associates I held back the tears.