Provenance : How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art

The true story of one of the twentieth century's most audacious art frauds Filled with extraordinary characters and told at breakneck speed, Provenancereads like a well-plotted thriller. But this is most certainly not fiction. It is the astonishing narrative of one of the most far-reaching and elaborate cons in the history of art forgery. Stretching from London to Paris to New York, investigative reporters Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo recount the tale of infamous con man and unforgettable villain John Drewe and his accomplice, the affable artist John Myatt. Together they exploited the archives of British art institutions to irrevocably legitimize the hundreds of pieces they forged, many of which are still considered genuine and hang in prominent museums and private collections today.

Aly Sujo, who passed away in October 2008, and Laney Salisbury were a husband-and-wife team of investigative reporters, who, together and individually, covered the arts, entertainment, and foreign news for Reuters and the Associated Press. Salisbury is co-author of The Cruelest Miles. She lives with her daughter in upstate New York.