Con/Artist by Tony Tetro #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and @NovelSuspects & Hachette Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Con/Artist in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Hachette Books / Hachette Audio

Published: November 22, 2022

 

Summary:

The world’s most renowned art forger reveals the secrets behind his decades of painting like the masters—exposing an art world that is far more corrupt than we ever knew while providing an art history lesson wrapped in sex, drugs, and Caravaggio.

The art world is a much dirtier, nastier business than you might expect. Tony Tetro, one of the most renowned art forgers in history, will make you question every masterpiece you’ve ever seen in a museum, gallery, or private collection. Tetro’s “Rembrandts,” “Caravaggios,” “Miros,” and hundreds of other works now hang on walls around the globe. In 2019, it was revealed that Prince Charles received into his collection a Picasso, Dali, Monet, and Chagall, insuring them for over 200 million pounds, only to later discover that they’re actually “Tetros.” And the kicker? In Tony’s words: “Even if some tycoon finds out his Rembrandt is a fake, what’s he going to do, turn it in? Now his Rembrandt just became motel art. Better to keep quiet and pass it on to the next guy. It’s the way things work for guys like me.” The Prince Charles scandal is the subject of a forthcoming feature documentary with Academy Award nominee Kief Davidson and coauthor Giampiero Ambrosi, in cooperation with Tetro.

Throughout Tetro’s career, his inimitable talent has been coupled with a reckless penchant for drugs, fast cars, and sleeping with other con artists. He was busted in 1989 and spent four years in court and one in prison. His voice—rough, wry, deeply authentic—is nothing like the high society he swanned around in, driving his Lamborghini or Ferrari, hobnobbing with aristocrats by day, and diving into debauchery when the lights went out. He’s a former furniture store clerk who can walk around in Caravaggio’s shoes, become Picasso or Monet, with an encyclopedic understanding of their paint, their canvases, their vision. For years, he hid it all in an unassuming California townhouse with a secret art room behind a full-length mirror. (Press #* on his phone and the mirror pops open.) Pairing up with coauthor Ambrosi, one of the investigative journalists who uncovered the 2019 scandal, Tetro unveils the art world in an epic, alluring, at times unbelievable, but all-true narrative.

 

My thoughts:

This was the perfect book to read during #NonfictionNovember. I have always been intrigued by any type of art theft, but art forgeries is a whole different story and getting to hear Tony tell us about how he ended up in this life was just fascinating.

Of course, art forgery is not a common practice today with all the technology we have in place but listening to the techniques that Tony used, it really is quite amazing that he was able to get away with what he did for so long. It will make you question whether the art you have seen is in fact real or a fake.

What makes book so readable is that it’s not a text-book how-to guide on forgery but rather it chronicles how Tony got into forgery and then how he refined his skills as he went on. It’s crazy to think how much goes into these forgeries – not only the paintings, but also in creating the network of people who sell them.

This is why I love reading true crime. Every once in a while, a gem like this pops up that doesn’t involve murder but is still just as fascinating and compelling. I’m so glad I requested this one and would recommend it to anyone who has any interest in the art world.

 

Audio thoughts:

I love listening to nonfiction and this one definitely kept me captivated from start to finish. I found myself completely engaged and thought Richard Ferrone did a great job bringing the story to life.