What do you think?
Rate this book
False Impressions: Hunt for Big-time Art Fakes
An illustrated expose of art forgery through the ages, which reveals the truth about a variety of scams and their victims, and describes cases when both the buyers and the experts were fooled.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
9 people are currently reading
523 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Hoving
71 books21 followersThomas Pearsall Field Hoving was an American museum executive and consultant, best known for serving as the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
His books primarily focus on art-related subjects, including art forgeries, Grant Wood, Andrew Wyeth, Tutankhamen, and the 12th-century walrus ivory crucifix known as the Bury St. Edmunds Cross. His memoir, Making the Mummies Dance, details his years at the Met.
His books primarily focus on art-related subjects, including art forgeries, Grant Wood, Andrew Wyeth, Tutankhamen, and the 12th-century walrus ivory crucifix known as the Bury St. Edmunds Cross. His memoir, Making the Mummies Dance, details his years at the Met.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
July 19, 2015
Imagine you've crashed an Upper East Side party full of the culturati. As you skulk around behind the potted ficus, you run across a mostly-bald man with a hawk nose and a gravelly voice holding court, attended by a clutch of people expensively clad in designer black. He's performing. People laugh. But instead of riffs on Manhattan real estate or the impossibility of finding good help, he's talking about art fraud.
He's Thomas Hoving*, and that, in a nutshell, is False Impressions.
Art fraud and forgery has been with us since the dawn of art. The first recorded art forgeries are Phoenician; the ancient Romans were notorious fakers; the Christians of the Middle Ages created a lively trade in fraudulent saints' relics, holy writings and other such; and so on down through history. Even the least-talented forgers can unload their wares as long as they can find a mark who fills the three vital qualifications for being had: need, speed, and greed.
Hoving overcame his one-percenter background (wealthy parents, Exeter, Princeton) to rise through the ranks of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, becoming its director in 1967. Among other things, he gave the world the original blockbuster traveling museum exhibition (The Treasures of Tutankhamen). He continued to be a fixture in the art world until his death, meeting, working with, fighting against or promoting a who's who of that milieu.
A showman and no stranger to self-promotion, Hoving is a natural storyteller. He alternates chapters about historical fakery with his own brushes with fraud as a curator or museum director. He manages to keep the jargon to a minimum, though it sneaks in, especially when he's describing the real or fake artworks that feature in his tales (prepare to spend some time with Wikipedia if you don't have a grounding in art history). He's certainly not shy about letting you know his opinions, which enhances the general chattiness of the book. He's even willing to tell tales on himself and how he either proposed or approved buying for the museum what turned out to be forgeries. It would be hard to find a livelier story written by a scholar of medieval art.
The downsides? The chapters featuring Hoving are sprightlier and more involving than the ones in which he's absent, leading to some unevenness of tone. For a book subtitled "The Hunt for Big-Time Art Fakes," there's surprisingly little hunting; the most developed story of detective work is Hoving's recounting of how he helped chase down the provenance of the infamous Getty kouros. If you're looking for detailed descriptions of how art experts uncover fakes, you won't find that here. There are, blessedly, pictures (not something you can say about a number of art-crime books), but something that would've been very enlightening is missing: a photographic comparison between one of the forgeries highlighted in the text and examples of real artworks of the same type, so we can see the differences in style and execution that the author spends a great deal of time explaining.
False Impressions is a relatively painless entrée into the world of art fraud and forgery, led by a highly experienced and articulate guide. It's much more like being at that imaginary cocktail party than in the field or the lab, and you'll learn more about the author than you strictly need to. At the end, though, you'll come out somewhat entertained, a bit more informed...and a good deal more skeptical about the works you encounter in a gallery or museum.
* Actually, it's his ghost; he died in December 2009. Nonetheless.
He's Thomas Hoving*, and that, in a nutshell, is False Impressions.
Art fraud and forgery has been with us since the dawn of art. The first recorded art forgeries are Phoenician; the ancient Romans were notorious fakers; the Christians of the Middle Ages created a lively trade in fraudulent saints' relics, holy writings and other such; and so on down through history. Even the least-talented forgers can unload their wares as long as they can find a mark who fills the three vital qualifications for being had: need, speed, and greed.
Hoving overcame his one-percenter background (wealthy parents, Exeter, Princeton) to rise through the ranks of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, becoming its director in 1967. Among other things, he gave the world the original blockbuster traveling museum exhibition (The Treasures of Tutankhamen). He continued to be a fixture in the art world until his death, meeting, working with, fighting against or promoting a who's who of that milieu.
A showman and no stranger to self-promotion, Hoving is a natural storyteller. He alternates chapters about historical fakery with his own brushes with fraud as a curator or museum director. He manages to keep the jargon to a minimum, though it sneaks in, especially when he's describing the real or fake artworks that feature in his tales (prepare to spend some time with Wikipedia if you don't have a grounding in art history). He's certainly not shy about letting you know his opinions, which enhances the general chattiness of the book. He's even willing to tell tales on himself and how he either proposed or approved buying for the museum what turned out to be forgeries. It would be hard to find a livelier story written by a scholar of medieval art.
The downsides? The chapters featuring Hoving are sprightlier and more involving than the ones in which he's absent, leading to some unevenness of tone. For a book subtitled "The Hunt for Big-Time Art Fakes," there's surprisingly little hunting; the most developed story of detective work is Hoving's recounting of how he helped chase down the provenance of the infamous Getty kouros. If you're looking for detailed descriptions of how art experts uncover fakes, you won't find that here. There are, blessedly, pictures (not something you can say about a number of art-crime books), but something that would've been very enlightening is missing: a photographic comparison between one of the forgeries highlighted in the text and examples of real artworks of the same type, so we can see the differences in style and execution that the author spends a great deal of time explaining.
False Impressions is a relatively painless entrée into the world of art fraud and forgery, led by a highly experienced and articulate guide. It's much more like being at that imaginary cocktail party than in the field or the lab, and you'll learn more about the author than you strictly need to. At the end, though, you'll come out somewhat entertained, a bit more informed...and a good deal more skeptical about the works you encounter in a gallery or museum.
* Actually, it's his ghost; he died in December 2009. Nonetheless.
April 18, 2010
Fun to read, but a little exhausting. Hoving runs at a fast pace through most of the notable art frauds of the entire history of the world. He was involved in "busting" many of them (lots of ancient fakes were only busted in the late 20th century), and sometimes it's really interesting when he describes the process. But sometimes he gets bogged down in "and then we did this and then we did that."
Also, even though so many amazing art experts are fooled all the time by forgeries, he keeps up a constant tone of, like, "well, of course, it didn't fool ME" or "it wouldn't have fooled ME."
One thing that bothered me about this book at first is it made me feel like I should never go to a museum again, because how could I trust that anything I see is real. But in the end he says something really encouraging (to me, anyway), which is that you can be the greatest art expert in the world and still be fooled; but once you live with a work of art you'll eventually know if it's real or fake because of the emotions it evokes (rapture for real art, disgust or disappointment for fakes).
Also, even though so many amazing art experts are fooled all the time by forgeries, he keeps up a constant tone of, like, "well, of course, it didn't fool ME" or "it wouldn't have fooled ME."
One thing that bothered me about this book at first is it made me feel like I should never go to a museum again, because how could I trust that anything I see is real. But in the end he says something really encouraging (to me, anyway), which is that you can be the greatest art expert in the world and still be fooled; but once you live with a work of art you'll eventually know if it's real or fake because of the emotions it evokes (rapture for real art, disgust or disappointment for fakes).
March 31, 2017
I feel the smallest amount guilty for giving this only two stars. I would give it two and a half if I could.. but not three, so two it is. There is a lot of good and interesting information in this book, but it was slow and stodgy to get through. The author reads like someone who thinks he's very witty and entertaining, but is actually rather dry and pompous in reality. There is a ton of information crammed into this book. I did learn some things, but I can't say it was terribly entertaining. I've read similar books that rate far higher on the entertainment scale. I doubt I'll reach for another of his books.
March 4, 2021
This book is a lot of fun but can also go down into the minutiae in terms of ancient art. The author is opinionated and proud to point out when he was right about particular objects, though to his credit he isn't afraid to admit when he made mistakes.
He was former Director of The Met and there are a lot of eye-opening stories from this book. Most of it features art from 15th Century and earlier, which was Hoving's specialty, and so if you are interested in more modern art, there is less to go on.
The stories are generally pretty interesting, though it does lose its rhythm at times.
He was former Director of The Met and there are a lot of eye-opening stories from this book. Most of it features art from 15th Century and earlier, which was Hoving's specialty, and so if you are interested in more modern art, there is less to go on.
The stories are generally pretty interesting, though it does lose its rhythm at times.
August 2, 2023
A bit dry at times, but overall a fascinating look into the long history of art forgery and the incredible scams pulled off over the years. Definitely recommend having some background knowledge of art history going into this one, as Hoving doesn’t waste time explaining the technical terms he uses. However, you don’t need an extensive background in art to enjoy this - I took a class on art and architecture a few years ago and that gave me enough baseline knowledge to enjoy this book.
April 23, 2022
This could have been a really interesting book if the author didn’t have such a massive ego + treat everyone else around him with contempt.
March 23, 2026
Intriguing and well researched, written in the kind of semi-pompous voice you'd expect from someone in the art world!
November 23, 2025
p.69: "This led an enterprising Egyptian faker to boil down peasant-class mummies, which were being sold as fuel for the railroads ..."
For someone concerned with discovering fakes, this joke by Mark Twain (The Innocents Abroad - 1869) about mummies used as fuel should not have made it into the book.
For someone concerned with discovering fakes, this joke by Mark Twain (The Innocents Abroad - 1869) about mummies used as fuel should not have made it into the book.
December 18, 2023
I'd loved Thomas Hoving's Making the Mummies Dance, a behind the scenes look at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In False Impressions, Hoving delves into the art of forgery and fakebusting; in the introduction, Hoving notes that during his time with the Met, he "must have examined fifty thousand works in all fields. Fully 40 percent were either phonies or so hypocritically restored or so misattributed that they were just the same as forgeries". And this percentage has likely risen since then.
Hoving observes that "art forgery is as old as mankind itself" and discusses forgery through the ages and their myriad motivations. The earliest fakers were likely the Phoenicians, who were wealthy traders with "no artistic heritage or inclination of their own" and so sought to acquire artworks from Syria, Egypt and Greece, even better if it was on the cheap.
But what struck me about Hoving's book is how forgery isn't always perpetrated by individuals looking to make a quick buck, to bolster their standing as people of wealth and culture, or simply to show off their talent and skill. Many of the examples Hoving cites relate to forgery perpetrated by institutions as a means of cementing their importance and legitimacy. "Pious fraud" - where priests and other religious figures would commission fakes including fake reliquaries - is one example of this. THoving reveals that "much of early Venice is a fake - deliberate, conscious, beautifully thought out - a fake of high political import". In the beginning, Venice lacked a past and hinterland and therefore sought to create the impression of historical and religious legitimacy by forging documents that made it seem as though the Holy See of Venice was the legitimate successor of the city of Aquileia, which itself could be traced (by more forged papers) to Saint Mark. Indeed, Hoving points out that the church of San Marco was built as a replica to the church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople and the palaces surrounding it were copies of palaces in the 5th century AD to lend "an aura of venerability".
Hoving's education in fakebusting came not only from academic study and research, interacting with fakebusters but also from interacting with gifted forgers themselves. He recounts his friendship with paintings restorer and forger Frank X Kelly. And he also recounts all the times he was taken in by fakes, acquiring forgeries at no small cost to the Met and subsequently having to acknowledge his mistakes.
Notwithstanding all the advances in fakebusting, Hoving reminds us, citing the warning of former chairman of the Met's European paintings department Theodore Rousseau, that we are only aware of the bad forgeries, i.e. the ones that have been detected. The good ones are still hanging on the walls.
A fascinating read.
Hoving observes that "art forgery is as old as mankind itself" and discusses forgery through the ages and their myriad motivations. The earliest fakers were likely the Phoenicians, who were wealthy traders with "no artistic heritage or inclination of their own" and so sought to acquire artworks from Syria, Egypt and Greece, even better if it was on the cheap.
But what struck me about Hoving's book is how forgery isn't always perpetrated by individuals looking to make a quick buck, to bolster their standing as people of wealth and culture, or simply to show off their talent and skill. Many of the examples Hoving cites relate to forgery perpetrated by institutions as a means of cementing their importance and legitimacy. "Pious fraud" - where priests and other religious figures would commission fakes including fake reliquaries - is one example of this. THoving reveals that "much of early Venice is a fake - deliberate, conscious, beautifully thought out - a fake of high political import". In the beginning, Venice lacked a past and hinterland and therefore sought to create the impression of historical and religious legitimacy by forging documents that made it seem as though the Holy See of Venice was the legitimate successor of the city of Aquileia, which itself could be traced (by more forged papers) to Saint Mark. Indeed, Hoving points out that the church of San Marco was built as a replica to the church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople and the palaces surrounding it were copies of palaces in the 5th century AD to lend "an aura of venerability".
Hoving's education in fakebusting came not only from academic study and research, interacting with fakebusters but also from interacting with gifted forgers themselves. He recounts his friendship with paintings restorer and forger Frank X Kelly. And he also recounts all the times he was taken in by fakes, acquiring forgeries at no small cost to the Met and subsequently having to acknowledge his mistakes.
Notwithstanding all the advances in fakebusting, Hoving reminds us, citing the warning of former chairman of the Met's European paintings department Theodore Rousseau, that we are only aware of the bad forgeries, i.e. the ones that have been detected. The good ones are still hanging on the walls.
A fascinating read.
April 16, 2016
There is something about the world of crime as it intersects with art that is just fascinating. The cleverness – sometimes brilliance – applied to creating forgeries, cheek by jowl with sometimes massive stupidities that either reveal them or blind suckers who believe in them; the pervasiveness of copies through time and space; the age-old question of why a forgery is worth less than an original when experts can't tell which is which (Mr. Hoving makes his opinion on this topic very clear). In his long career in and around the art world, Hoving collected more stories than, it seems, any other six people combined, and happily among his many gifts was a gossipy, intelligent, conversational writing style which sets those stories down in some terrific pot-boilers of books.
My only regret about False Impressions is the sparseness of illustrations. There are quite a few black-and-white photos inserted, of a few of the works of art discussed as well as people and events along the way, but there are so very many works examined which aren't included, for some of which Goodsearch and Google come up lemons. Ideally, of course, I would have loved to have seen all of the forgeries – and, where applicable, their originals. There is one example of both side by side, challenging the reader to pick which was which, and yes, I did pick correctly, therefore finding it to be a great idea. For the rest, I spent quite a bit of time combing the internet, with decidedly mixed results; some of the forgeries that were discovered have been relegated to storage deep in the bowels of the Met, and will never be seen again by the ordinary public.
Hoving talks here, as in Making the Mummies Dance, about handling the old and beautiful and unique, and that inevitably rouses deep jealousy in me. But he was well aware of the privilege and responsibility and honor of being able to do so, which keeps me from feeling full-blown hate-you envy; he never lost his admiration and adoration of art, never became jaded about the Monets and Vermeers and medieval altarpieces, was as excited by the last wonderful piece he handled as he was by the first - which all is one of the reasons I love to read his books.
My only regret about False Impressions is the sparseness of illustrations. There are quite a few black-and-white photos inserted, of a few of the works of art discussed as well as people and events along the way, but there are so very many works examined which aren't included, for some of which Goodsearch and Google come up lemons. Ideally, of course, I would have loved to have seen all of the forgeries – and, where applicable, their originals. There is one example of both side by side, challenging the reader to pick which was which, and yes, I did pick correctly, therefore finding it to be a great idea. For the rest, I spent quite a bit of time combing the internet, with decidedly mixed results; some of the forgeries that were discovered have been relegated to storage deep in the bowels of the Met, and will never be seen again by the ordinary public.
Hoving talks here, as in Making the Mummies Dance, about handling the old and beautiful and unique, and that inevitably rouses deep jealousy in me. But he was well aware of the privilege and responsibility and honor of being able to do so, which keeps me from feeling full-blown hate-you envy; he never lost his admiration and adoration of art, never became jaded about the Monets and Vermeers and medieval altarpieces, was as excited by the last wonderful piece he handled as he was by the first - which all is one of the reasons I love to read his books.
March 20, 2013
This could have been a more interesting book, but often as not I found it a chore to read. The subject matter -- art fakery, the criminals who perpetrate it, and the curators and journalists who fall for it -- made for a fascinating glimpse into this other world. Hoving just can't write well consistently, and in particular he can't sidestep his own ego for long.
Sometimes, like when going over the medieval and renaissance works, he would cover so many so quickly that it felt as if he were simply reciting names and dates, losing all the unique charm a tale needs to keep your interest. Some of the text made no sense without the plates (halfway across the book), and for some parts there were no plates to, I was never sure just what he was talking about. Other times he exhaustively defines every point, sometimes well, but sometimes to the point of irritation. The biggest mistake I saw was that the ending was very rushed; one of the most interesting stories, about a prolific Mexican sculptor, was cut short and glossed over.
Hoving also has a reputation for... embellishing on his own accomplishments or criminals' cleverness. Some of the areas seem a little hazy and farfetched, so I don't know. He always claims his own explanation to be correct anytime there's room for many possible theories, rather than explaining each and giving the highs and lows of them. In tone he is quite full of himself and his accomplishments, always boasting of being a great fakebuster, often sneering at fellow curators and making snide remarks about journalists (who are really only expected to report whatever the curator says, after all, since most aren't trained in art).
Overall, the book does concentrate on the art and the people duped, and it will expand your fine art knowledge in many ways, covering many varied subjects. I'd still recommend it to art students or fanciers, but to most it would simply be too dense and uneven.
Sometimes, like when going over the medieval and renaissance works, he would cover so many so quickly that it felt as if he were simply reciting names and dates, losing all the unique charm a tale needs to keep your interest. Some of the text made no sense without the plates (halfway across the book), and for some parts there were no plates to, I was never sure just what he was talking about. Other times he exhaustively defines every point, sometimes well, but sometimes to the point of irritation. The biggest mistake I saw was that the ending was very rushed; one of the most interesting stories, about a prolific Mexican sculptor, was cut short and glossed over.
Hoving also has a reputation for... embellishing on his own accomplishments or criminals' cleverness. Some of the areas seem a little hazy and farfetched, so I don't know. He always claims his own explanation to be correct anytime there's room for many possible theories, rather than explaining each and giving the highs and lows of them. In tone he is quite full of himself and his accomplishments, always boasting of being a great fakebuster, often sneering at fellow curators and making snide remarks about journalists (who are really only expected to report whatever the curator says, after all, since most aren't trained in art).
Overall, the book does concentrate on the art and the people duped, and it will expand your fine art knowledge in many ways, covering many varied subjects. I'd still recommend it to art students or fanciers, but to most it would simply be too dense and uneven.
June 4, 2016
Let's bid 2.5. There are really two parts to this book. The first section is all about various museum pieces that are fakes: how they were gotten, who uncovered the fakery, etc. It's about the process of uncovering fakes, told from the point of view of the curator or purchaser, naturally. The problem with this section is that it is decidedly encyclopedic and when there are pictures of the item in question, the photos are halfway through the back of the book. Definitely inconvenient and made more frustrating because Hoving mentions tons of artwork and there are only pictures of a few of them. So between reading, looking for photos, and looking up the piece of art on the Internet, I did get exasperated. The second part of the book really follows Hoving and his nemesis Frel, very shady character who bought for the Getty. This begin in an interesting manner and then becomes so full of detail and proofs that the reader begins to lose the impetus and gets mired in detail, similar to the flaws of the first part of the book. Read only if you are passionately interested and can handle Hoving's monumental ego.
May 12, 2011
This book was not very well written, but the topic was interesting. And, I feel more informed. For better or worse--I found myself questioning several of the Boston MFA's pieces from antiquity when I was there recently! It is not the same exact subject, but a book dealing with art that is actually well written and that I enjoyed a lot is The Lost Painting by the author of A Civil Action. In some ways, it is the opposite story of False Impressions--it tells the tale of the discovery of a genuine masterpiece.
June 23, 2009
I checked this out from the library and then remembered I had already read it! I've heard Thomas Hoving interviewed on NPR several times and picked up his book because he's so unpretentious and funny (two qualities lacking in the art world!). This book covers many interesting examples of misattributed artwork, art fakes, how they are discovered, and other delicious scandals. It's a very fun read if you're into art history at all.
August 24, 2016
I love books about art, and especially books about busting art theft & fraud. Hoving, an art collector, curator, and fakebuster with an ego as big as Rome's Colosseum, spins some entertaining and fascinating tales of great art, not-so-great fakes, and the various laypeople and academics fooled by them.
Hoving's stories about his own prowess as a curator & fakebuster are well tempered with examples of how he, too, has been deceived. Recommended strictly for art nerds like me.
Hoving's stories about his own prowess as a curator & fakebuster are well tempered with examples of how he, too, has been deceived. Recommended strictly for art nerds like me.
June 8, 2011
Entertaining and filled with art-world gossip. Hoving can be rough of some of his colleagues who fell for fakes in spite of what should have been obvious evidence, but it equally critical of his own failures. And the overall tone is so charming and funny that it is like reading "Monty Pythons' Guide to Fakebusting".
Want to Read
January 8, 2012If I recall correctly, I read the last chapter of this book after hearing an episode of Studio 360 in 2006 regarding the artist & forger (or artist-forger), Brigido Lara.
After reading about Hoving again in Malcom Gladwell's Blink, I have a feeling this would be an entertaining book. Hoving was quite a character, and I think that character is well-conveyed in his writing.
After reading about Hoving again in Malcom Gladwell's Blink, I have a feeling this would be an entertaining book. Hoving was quite a character, and I think that character is well-conveyed in his writing.
July 21, 2009
This is a well written, clever book about fake art in museum. He take the reader on a journey back to the source of each fake and how they end up deifed in a museum and finally how they fall from grace. Well worth a read.
January 31, 2008
Another eye opening book by Hoving. Great stories of lies, fraud, enormous egos, and more. If you love art, you must read this book. My third time through it and not my last.
March 23, 2008
The underbelly of acquisitions, and not surprisingly, quite gossip-y.
July 18, 2011
A great insider's view of the art forgery business.
April 3, 2017
Well-written, but I don't know enough about the art world for it to hold my attention, especially when there are so many other books to read.
September 11, 2014
This book had some very interesting information, but it was rather messily written. I had trouble following along at various points in this work.
August 23, 2012
I found that it was a little dry in places, but some very interesting parts as well. Something you might have to read for an art history class.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews