John Myatt
Encyclopedia
John Myatt, is a British
artist
and convicted forger
who, with John Drewe
, perpetrated what has been described as "the biggest art fraud of the 20th century".
in 1979. He later worked as a teacher
in Staffordshire
.
magazine which read "Genuine fakes. Nineteen and twentieth century paintings from £150". He was initially honest about the nature of his paintings, but John Drewe, a regular customer, was able to re-sell some of his paintings as genuine works. When he later told Myatt that Christie's
had accepted his "Albert Gleizes
" painting as genuine and paid £25,000, Myatt became a willing accomplice to Drewe's fraud, and began to paint more pictures in the style of masters like Roger Bissiere
, Marc Chagall
, Le Corbusier
, Jean Dubuffet
, Alberto Giacometti
, Matisse, Ben Nicholson
, Nicholas de Stael and Graham Sutherland
.
estimates, Myatt painted about 200 forgeries in a regular schedule and delivered them to Drewe in London. Police later recovered only 60 of them. Drewe sold them to the auction houses of Christie's, Phillips and Sotheby's
and to dealers in London
, Paris
and New York
.
detectives. He quickly confessed
, stating that he had created the paintings using emulsion
paint and K-Y Jelly
, a mixture that dried quickly but was hardly reminiscent of the original pigment
s. He estimated that he had earned around £275,000 and offered to return £18,000 and to help to convict Drewe. He had come to dislike the deception and Drewe.
On April 16, 1996 police raided Drewe's gallery in the Reigate
suburb
of London and found materials he had used to forge certificates of authenticity
. Drewe had also altered provenance
s of genuine paintings to link them to Myatt's forgeries and added bogus documents to archive
s of various institutions in order to "prove" their authenticity.
The trial
against Myatt and Drewe began September 1998. On February 13, 1999, John Myatt was sentenced
to one year in prison
for a conspiracy
to defraud
and was released the following June after serving four months of his sentence. Drewe was sentenced to six years for conspiracy and served two.
s and clear copies, and has held exhibitions
of his work. His paintings are now marked indelibly as fakes, and have sold for up to £45,000.
In 2007 it was reported that a film was to be made about Myatt's case, written by Dick Clement
and Ian La Frenais
and with the working title "Genuine Fakes".
He now works alongside law enforcement in helping to expose fraudsters.
John also has a television show on Sky Arts called Fame in the Frame. He has a private sitting with one celebrity each episode and paints a portrait of them in the style of a famous artist. Episodes include painting singer/songwriter Ian Brown in the style of Paul Cézanne and actor/comedian Stephen Fry in the style of Diego Velázquez' Portrait of Pope Innocent X.
John now hosts his own series - Virgin Virtuosos on Sky Arts, where he takes celebrities and recreates a famous painting.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and convicted forger
Art forgery
Art forgery is the creation of works of art which are falsely attributed to other, usually more famous, artists. Art forgery can be extremely lucrative, but modern dating and analysis techniques have made the identification of forged artwork much simpler....
who, with John Drewe
John Drewe
John Drewe is a British purveyor of art forgeries who commissioned artist John Myatt to paint them. Drewe earned about £1.8 million executing these art crimes.-Early life:...
, perpetrated what has been described as "the biggest art fraud of the 20th century".
Early life
The son of a farmer, Myatt attended art school and discovered a talent for mimicking other artists' styles but at first only painted for amusement and for friends. He worked as a songwriter for a time and wrote the single "Silly Games", a UK Top 40 hit for Janet KayJanet Kay
Janet Kay is a British singer of Jamaican parentage best known for her lovers rock songs of the late 1970s - "Silly Games" and a cover of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You". She has also had roles as a theatre and television actress...
in 1979. He later worked as a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
.
Painting
When his wife left him in 1985, Myatt gave up teaching to spend more time with his children, and attempted to make a living by painting original works in the style of well known artists. He placed an advertisement in Private EyePrivate Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
magazine which read "Genuine fakes. Nineteen and twentieth century paintings from £150". He was initially honest about the nature of his paintings, but John Drewe, a regular customer, was able to re-sell some of his paintings as genuine works. When he later told Myatt that Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
had accepted his "Albert Gleizes
Albert Gleizes
Albert Gleizes , was a French painter. Born Albert Léon Gleizes and raised in Paris, he was the son of a fabric designer who ran a large industrial design workshop...
" painting as genuine and paid £25,000, Myatt became a willing accomplice to Drewe's fraud, and began to paint more pictures in the style of masters like Roger Bissiere
Roger Bissière
Roger Bissière was a French artist who painted in the abstract Tachisme style. He was born in Villeréal, Lot-et-Garonne, and died in Boissièrettes...
, Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
, Jean Dubuffet
Jean Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a more authentic and humanistic approach to image-making.-Life and work:Dubuffet was...
, Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker.Alberto Giacometti was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia and came from an artistic background; his father, Giovanni, was a well-known post-Impressionist painter...
, Matisse, Ben Nicholson
Ben Nicholson
Benjamin Lauder "Ben" Nicholson, OM was a British painter of abstract compositions , landscape and still-life.-Background and Training:...
, Nicholas de Stael and Graham Sutherland
Graham Sutherland
Graham Vivien Sutherland OM was an English artist.-Early life:He was born in Streatham, attending Homefield Preparatory School, Sutton. He was then educated at Epsom College, Surrey before going up to Goldsmiths, University of London...
.
Forgeries
According to policePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
estimates, Myatt painted about 200 forgeries in a regular schedule and delivered them to Drewe in London. Police later recovered only 60 of them. Drewe sold them to the auction houses of Christie's, Phillips and Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
and to dealers in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Arrest and trial
In September 1995, Myatt was arrested by Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
detectives. He quickly confessed
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
, stating that he had created the paintings using emulsion
Emulsion
An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible . Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Although the terms colloid and emulsion are sometimes used interchangeably, emulsion is used when both the dispersed and the...
paint and K-Y Jelly
K-Y Jelly
K-Y Jelly is a water-based, water-soluble personal lubricant produced by Johnson & Johnson. According to the company, "The origins of the brand name 'K-Y' are unknown...
, a mixture that dried quickly but was hardly reminiscent of the original pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
s. He estimated that he had earned around £275,000 and offered to return £18,000 and to help to convict Drewe. He had come to dislike the deception and Drewe.
On April 16, 1996 police raided Drewe's gallery in the Reigate
Reigate
Reigate is a historic market town in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs, and in the London commuter belt. It is one of the main constituents of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of London and found materials he had used to forge certificates of authenticity
Certificate of Authenticity
A certificate of authenticity is a seal or small sticker on a proprietary computer program, t-shirt, jersey, or any other memorabilia or art work, especially in the world of computers and sports, it is commonly a seal on paper authenticating a specific art work which and is made to demonstrate...
. Drewe had also altered provenance
Provenance
Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
s of genuine paintings to link them to Myatt's forgeries and added bogus documents to archive
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
s of various institutions in order to "prove" their authenticity.
The trial
Trial (law)
In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...
against Myatt and Drewe began September 1998. On February 13, 1999, John Myatt was sentenced
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...
to one year in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
for a conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to defraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
and was released the following June after serving four months of his sentence. Drewe was sentenced to six years for conspiracy and served two.
Current career
After his release, Myatt has continued to paint commissioned portraitPortrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
s and clear copies, and has held exhibitions
Art exhibition
Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
of his work. His paintings are now marked indelibly as fakes, and have sold for up to £45,000.
In 2007 it was reported that a film was to be made about Myatt's case, written by Dick Clement
Dick Clement
Dick Clement, OBE is an English writer.Born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, Clement was educated at Bishop's Stortford College and is best known for his writing partnership with Ian La Frenais. Generally, Clement and La Frenais write comedies, or dramas with a comic tone...
and Ian La Frenais
Ian La Frenais
Ian La Frenais, OBE, , is an English writer best known for his creative partnership with Dick Clement. They are most famous for television series including, The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Porridge, Lovejoy and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.They have also written various other work...
and with the working title "Genuine Fakes".
He now works alongside law enforcement in helping to expose fraudsters.
John also has a television show on Sky Arts called Fame in the Frame. He has a private sitting with one celebrity each episode and paints a portrait of them in the style of a famous artist. Episodes include painting singer/songwriter Ian Brown in the style of Paul Cézanne and actor/comedian Stephen Fry in the style of Diego Velázquez' Portrait of Pope Innocent X.
John now hosts his own series - Virgin Virtuosos on Sky Arts, where he takes celebrities and recreates a famous painting.
External links
- John Myatt at Washington Green Fine Art - includes examples of work and interviews