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Three Picassos Before Breakfast
Used Book
Hardcover
First published December 12, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 25, 2015
The novel THE ART FORGER by B.A. Shapiro mentions David Stein as one of the great forgers. I was especially fascinated with Anne-Marie's memoir because my former husband was an art dealer who once shared gallery space with the Steins in Palm Beach. Now I know what happened after we discovered they were selling fakes.
Anne-Marie's memoir was published a year after David was released from prison in 1972. It was a miracle to find a used copy of the book in 2014. I was astonished that it included a photograph of my husband, my father-in-law, and me at a gallery opening. The mystery to me is Anne-Marie herself. In a first-person story, one hopes to learn something about the narrator. Clearly she was very bright. She was studying law when she met David. But who was she? Why did she hook up with a con man? That she was not arrested as his accomplice is amazing. Chagall, who was alive at the time David was forging his work, saw David's paintings and declared them forgeries. As David said in an interview, he should have stuck with dead people.
Anne-Marie's memoir was published a year after David was released from prison in 1972. It was a miracle to find a used copy of the book in 2014. I was astonished that it included a photograph of my husband, my father-in-law, and me at a gallery opening. The mystery to me is Anne-Marie herself. In a first-person story, one hopes to learn something about the narrator. Clearly she was very bright. She was studying law when she met David. But who was she? Why did she hook up with a con man? That she was not arrested as his accomplice is amazing. Chagall, who was alive at the time David was forging his work, saw David's paintings and declared them forgeries. As David said in an interview, he should have stuck with dead people.
October 30, 2023
A fascinating memoir of mid-century art forgery and dealing, told in the first-person by the wife and accomplice to a master forger. If you like art crime, you will like this. The memoir component is also strong, though I wished to know more about Anne-Marie's life once David went to prison.
September 13, 2019
Not scintillating, but an interesting insight into the goings-on of the forgery business. One for the Lovejoy fans who find it hard to believe that stuff's actually real!
June 13, 2021
It moved a bit slowly yet a fascinating story. I wanted to know more about Anne-Marie herself and life after this chapter in her life.
December 5, 2013
Not a particularly well written book but if you are intrigued by the "goings on" in the art world, a very interesting book.
December 31, 2014
Captivating story, Anne-Marie. Thanks for telling it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews