This month the Emporium received a donated fake Henri Matisse, by famous art forger Elmyr de Hory.
His was a fascinating tale; the eldest son of Hungarian landed gentry, World War II stripped him of everything but his genius at imitating Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, Renoir, and other great painters of the 20th century. After enjoying the fruits of his fakes in a lavish party lifestyle, in 1967 he confided to a neighbour at his villa in celebrity- studded Ibiza that his precious post-Impressionist masterpiece collection were all fakes, forged by his own hand. And more than a thousand had gone to public museums and private collections – including fifty paintings ‘by Matisse, Modigliani and Picasso’ to the Texas oil mogul Algur Hurtle Meadows for his Dallas mansion.
Elmyr de Hory fakes are now very collectible, and this 75cm watercolour is estimated at £200- £300 in the sale by Charterhouse Antiques on 5th November (lot 868).
“We at the Emporium would like to thank our generous donor and especially Richard Bromell and his team at Charterhouse for supporting us over the last few years, their advice and expertise has been invaluable to us.”
Gentlemen now have their very own boutique inside The Emporium, with a separate pre- loved clothes shop called Dapper Chaps, complete with changing room. The former Community Chest pre-loved ladies clothing shop has been redecorated and is now known as The Boutique.
