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Drawn to Trouble: Confessions of a Master Forger
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380 pages, Hardcover
First published October 17, 1991
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265 people want to read
About the author
Eric Hebborn
9 books4 followersEric Hebborn was an English painter and art forger and later an author.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 1, 2014
Hebborn's narrative style sometimes reminds me of a less posh James Lees Milne--full of fascinating interpersonal connections and elegant gossip. I realize that many will dismiss the autobiography of an art forger out of hand as a tome rife with stories to excuse away antisocial behavior. "Drawn to Trouble" is quite different, I think, because it is so clear that Eric Hebborn has not set out to salvage his reputation. Indeed, he is completely candid about the judgmental statements of his critics and perfectly willing to be honest about his methods, his career's course, and his objectives.
What makes Hebborn sympathetic is his genuine love of art. He had no megalomaniacal objectives about being a star of the fine art world. He had rather simple tastes in living a life that made him happy: a life in which he could spend time with, learn from, and perhaps own genuine examples of artists he admired. His true skill lay in drawing and he viewed his time spent with genuine artworks on paper as a way to learn from a master long dead. Of course, his artistic efforts were not entirely academic, for he also forged provenance (quite convincingly) to go with his drawings and provide answers to normal questions about their attribution and former ownership.
One of the aspects about Hebborn's recollections I found most interesting was his critique of the London art world of fine art dealers and auction houses in the 1950's and 1960's. There were many "experts" who knew perfectly well that it was likely a drawing in question was from the pen of Eric Hebborn, but chose to ignore that fact in favor of profit. In those days, auction houses especially were not held to the higher ethical standards of today and if an attribution they made was found to be false, they did not have the same liability they do today. Yes, Hebborn set out to be a fine art forger, but at many times in his early life it seemed that the "experts" encouraged him to produce fakes to order for their own benefit. Where they were more concerned with profit, Hebborn was genuinely acting out a passion to truly understand how these beautiful drawings were made: materials, composition, and style. His passion fed illegal activity, but this was not a a man intent of defrauding the poor to make himself wealthy. In a rarefied world of expert and long-established dealers, museum curators, and wealthy collectors, Eric Hebborn was essentially invited to play a game, to test the eyes of the jaded and fill orders for the greedy. He met a tragic end by being murdered on the street in Italy, which, in my mind, makes him even more a fascinating and sympathetic genius--judged, reviled, abandoned, and loathed as geniuses so often are. He was a self-made man through and through--physically abused by his parents, molested while in an orphanage, and never treated as an equal by the fine art experts who knew even less than he did with his second-rate art school education. They simply could not touch his passion. A fine book. Beautifully and sensitively written.
What makes Hebborn sympathetic is his genuine love of art. He had no megalomaniacal objectives about being a star of the fine art world. He had rather simple tastes in living a life that made him happy: a life in which he could spend time with, learn from, and perhaps own genuine examples of artists he admired. His true skill lay in drawing and he viewed his time spent with genuine artworks on paper as a way to learn from a master long dead. Of course, his artistic efforts were not entirely academic, for he also forged provenance (quite convincingly) to go with his drawings and provide answers to normal questions about their attribution and former ownership.
One of the aspects about Hebborn's recollections I found most interesting was his critique of the London art world of fine art dealers and auction houses in the 1950's and 1960's. There were many "experts" who knew perfectly well that it was likely a drawing in question was from the pen of Eric Hebborn, but chose to ignore that fact in favor of profit. In those days, auction houses especially were not held to the higher ethical standards of today and if an attribution they made was found to be false, they did not have the same liability they do today. Yes, Hebborn set out to be a fine art forger, but at many times in his early life it seemed that the "experts" encouraged him to produce fakes to order for their own benefit. Where they were more concerned with profit, Hebborn was genuinely acting out a passion to truly understand how these beautiful drawings were made: materials, composition, and style. His passion fed illegal activity, but this was not a a man intent of defrauding the poor to make himself wealthy. In a rarefied world of expert and long-established dealers, museum curators, and wealthy collectors, Eric Hebborn was essentially invited to play a game, to test the eyes of the jaded and fill orders for the greedy. He met a tragic end by being murdered on the street in Italy, which, in my mind, makes him even more a fascinating and sympathetic genius--judged, reviled, abandoned, and loathed as geniuses so often are. He was a self-made man through and through--physically abused by his parents, molested while in an orphanage, and never treated as an equal by the fine art experts who knew even less than he did with his second-rate art school education. They simply could not touch his passion. A fine book. Beautifully and sensitively written.
September 13, 2016
Hebborn is clearly a far better forger than a writer, and given the nature of his career one wonders how reliable a narrator he is, but any quibbles with prose style or reliability are outweighed by the fascinating subject matter of this memoir. Those wanting more insight into the technical process of producing forgeries should check out his other book The Art Forger's Handbook.
November 22, 2012
A catalog of deceptions sparing confession. Explores (unintentionally) the ego of a forger and betrays the egotistic designs of his patrons. And yet, one leaves it feeling that he, the artist, hasn't gotten away with anything, all the bitterness of being un-famous and un-revered is still his. I have often looked upon art wondering at some small discrepancy, "what was this to the artist?" but I suppose I could have asked what it was to the forger, restorationist, flim-flamming secondary craftsman, it is maybe a more interesting question. If it disturbs you to hear someone going on about their heedless profession of art abasment and destructive, perhaps you can be conforted by klnowing that hebborn was brutally bludgeoned and left for dead in the streets of rome a few years after publication. Some embittered buyer's if you can't beat 'em, kill 'em?
January 4, 2018
In Drawn to Trouble we learn of the path a fostered Borstal boy takes from impoverished beginnings to one of the most celebrated forgers of 20th century Britain. His modus operandi was somewhat rare. Always considering himself better with a pencil than a brush, he would produce phoney preparatory sketches for genuine paintings. These he would present, in most cases unsigned, to experts and collectors alike, as if he was unaware of their provenance. There's no more powerful lie than a lie you get someone to tell to themselves.
Hebborn himself is a difficult character. The book starts out with great charm and wit, but the further we read the more we come to realise we are being treated to a series of polished routines about his life. Forgers tend to spin stories and myths around themselves, sometimes as a means of rationalising what they do, sometimes as a way of defending themselves. The fascistic Van Meegeren, whose almost accidental sale of a phoney Vermeer to Herman Goering, after the war reframed the sale as an impish and daring act of resistance. Quite what Hebborn is masking is not revealed greatly here. There is a hint; he records the demise of his relationship of many years with Graham David Smith in a single sentence which only reveals itself in the act of cold elision.
After reading this I read Smith's autobiography Celebration, which expands that sentence to about half the volume, revealing Hebborn as an occasionally violent, jealous, controlling, hypocritical ogre. It is, of course, something of a "he said, he said" game, but both volumes taken together gives a sense of who Hebborn truly was. I found myself, in reading Smith's book, recognising the Hebborn I had read in Drawn to Trouble, so if I am to recommend it at all, it is by recommending both together.
The books are also worth picking up if you're at all interested in Anthony Blunt, a friend of Hebborn and Smith, the art trade scene of the sixties and seventies, or even the social history of homosexuality across the same period.
Hebborn himself is a difficult character. The book starts out with great charm and wit, but the further we read the more we come to realise we are being treated to a series of polished routines about his life. Forgers tend to spin stories and myths around themselves, sometimes as a means of rationalising what they do, sometimes as a way of defending themselves. The fascistic Van Meegeren, whose almost accidental sale of a phoney Vermeer to Herman Goering, after the war reframed the sale as an impish and daring act of resistance. Quite what Hebborn is masking is not revealed greatly here. There is a hint; he records the demise of his relationship of many years with Graham David Smith in a single sentence which only reveals itself in the act of cold elision.
After reading this I read Smith's autobiography Celebration, which expands that sentence to about half the volume, revealing Hebborn as an occasionally violent, jealous, controlling, hypocritical ogre. It is, of course, something of a "he said, he said" game, but both volumes taken together gives a sense of who Hebborn truly was. I found myself, in reading Smith's book, recognising the Hebborn I had read in Drawn to Trouble, so if I am to recommend it at all, it is by recommending both together.
The books are also worth picking up if you're at all interested in Anthony Blunt, a friend of Hebborn and Smith, the art trade scene of the sixties and seventies, or even the social history of homosexuality across the same period.
September 27, 2017
Eric Hebborn must have been a great person to have a drink with, especially if his conversation was like his writing style: witty and brutally honest. This book covers his humble (and sad) upbringing in an abusive home, his stints in a juvenile jail and foster homes, and his life as an art student, dealer of prints and drawings, and as a forger. While one realizes that Hebborn knew exactly what he was doing, that is, polluting the art historical record with nearly 1000 forged drawings over a 30-year period, one cannot help but root for this unlikely hero as he battled wits with some of the greatest connoisseurs and art dealers of his era. One of the questions Hebborn asked is whether there can ever be fake art, or does everything just boil down to fake labels/misattributions. Nothing about Hebborn will seem fake, including his beautiful art, after you read this memoir. It includes wonderful descriptions of England and Italy, small towns and large, from the mid 1940s through the 1970s. He's gone, but this charming, fun-loving criminal should not be forgotten.
February 18, 2019
This memoir is written in a conversational style, which sometimes lacks pace. But the story told is very important, and it gives an insiders look at some of the scandals of the world of auctions and high art. It also tells one a lot about the atmosphere and life in artistic circles in post ww2 Britain.
November 13, 2025
4.57 - Has a feel of Wilde retelling a tale full of characters devised by Dickens. Especially in the first half, the story is beguiling, bizarre and perhaps unbelievable, a bit like Eric’s art. His self justification is quite a thing but adds to the complex personality he undoubtedly was. The second half gets a little bogged down in transactions but overall a fascinating read.
September 20, 2020
Super bueno, muy recomendado
August 20, 2025
Love this book. Wish I'd managed to buy some of Hebborn's work when it was auctioned in ~2010.
August 15, 2022
This book is an autobiography of Eric Hebborn, the art forger.
It's full of captivating stories spanning from his birth in the 1930's to his life in the 1990's. It tells of his first love, his background in learning art, him possibly being secretly investigated by the Russian authorities, and of course, his art forgeries. He made money from them, but also felt it was a type of game. The artist versus the expert.
Overall I enjoyed his stories, even if they have to be taken with a grain of salt given his history of deception. I read this book to take a break from the more academic literature I'd been reading. I was not disappointed.
It's full of captivating stories spanning from his birth in the 1930's to his life in the 1990's. It tells of his first love, his background in learning art, him possibly being secretly investigated by the Russian authorities, and of course, his art forgeries. He made money from them, but also felt it was a type of game. The artist versus the expert.
Overall I enjoyed his stories, even if they have to be taken with a grain of salt given his history of deception. I read this book to take a break from the more academic literature I'd been reading. I was not disappointed.
December 31, 2007
This should have been one of the most fascinating books ever! Sadly, but not surprisingly, Hebborn is a total egomaniac and his autobiography comes off as more of a brag book than anything. I did learn a few interesting things about forgery, but the book did not provide the kind of insight into the character of a forger that I was looking for (perhaps best described by an outside source, it would seem), other than to say that he is classically self-absorbed sociopath.
November 19, 2008
Strangely fascinating memoir about art forger Eric Hebborn. When I think back on the book I am not sure why I enjoyed it so much, but I did. I found the first bit about his very early life written in an off-putting style, but he settled down quickly and then it got good. Eric was an extremely talented artist and I really enjoyed the many art pictures and comparisons in the book. It is also is ultimately thought provoking about what makes art valuable: the art itself or the label on it.
August 5, 2008
An enormously appealing memoir by an art forger who writes well. Fascinating take on resilience after rejection by mom, (while totally not being about that), art, high society, healthy gay relationship, and life of crime (subset, getting away with it).
July 3, 2012
Probably an interesting read for art aficionados (which I am not). Got about half way through the book then gave up as it loses the delightful humor of the early pages and doesn't seem to go anywhere except for more name dropping of famous and wannabe famous artists.
Currently reading
September 11, 2009This is an amazing story - true or not... I'm really hoping someone out there is writing a follow up bio that includes the mystery surrounding his murder!
October 4, 2011
The low down on the world of art forgery from an expert forger. How to convince art critics that a forgery is genuine.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews