Crime Time Cafe

The Greatest Art Forger: Elmyr de Hory's Million-Dollar Deception

In this episode of Crime Time Cafe, we step into the glamorous yet shadowy world of high-end art forgery with Elmyr de Hory — the charming Hungarian-born master who fooled galleries, museums, and collectors for decades. Posing as a displaced aristocrat, he cranked out over 1,000 "in the style of" masterpieces by Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, and more, injecting millions (in today's dollars) worth of fakes into the global art market. We explore the business side: how he built his forgery empire, the dealers who moved his work, the staggering profits, and why many of his pieces may still hang undetected in prestigious collections today. A tale of deception, style, and the ultimate con in the art world.