An improbable story that keep me turning pages. Claire is a believable protagonist, even as she makes bad decisions. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in art history, Degas, or a vivid story of how to paint a copy of a copy of a masterpiece. ( )

I had to sit and read all day day because I opened up The Art Forger by Shapiro and could not put it down. Claire Roth is an artist who, for a living, creates high quality copies of masterpieces of art. When the director of a well known art gallery brings her a painting to copy she recognizes it as a Degas work that had been stolen from a museum twenty-five years earlier. As she begins to work she realizes that the painting the museum had was a copy as well. Good writing, good character buildup, good pacing, - a real spellbinder. ( )

The mixture of real events with the fictional story was well done. But ultimately the story seemed somewhat rushed and under-constructed. ( )

KIRKUS REVIEWA cleverly plotted art-world thriller/romance with a murky moral core.That nobody knows anything seems to be Shapiro?s (The Safe Room, 2002, etc., as Barbara Shapiro) assessment of art authentication, given the number of misdetected paintings strewn through her engrossing if unlikely story. In Boston, painter Claire Roth has spent three years dealing with the guilt and scandal of her involvement with Isaac Cullion, whose breakthrough work, 4D, she painted for him when he was blocked. After the picture became a success, Cullion refused to acknowledge Claire?s involvement, and her objections plus the attendant rumors led to his suicide and her vilification. Since then, she has survived financially by painting reproductions, so when influential gallery owner Aiden Markel arrives with a bizarre proposal�her own show if she will forge a copy of a Degas, one of the pictures stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum¥she says yes. As she works, Claire and Aiden become lovers, but she doesn?t tell him about her discovery that the stolen Degas is itself a copy. This knowledge is Claire?s lifeline when the finished forgery is discovered, Aiden and then Claire are both arrested, and only she can save them.Despite a shaky premise, this is convincingly researched, engaging storytelling. Intelligent entertainment.Pub Date: Oct. 23rd, 2012ISBN: 978-1-61620-132-6Page count: 368ppPublisher: AlgonquinReview Posted Online: Aug. 29th, 2012Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15th, 2012

Read this one that had been in my kindle for a long time once I realized it was a spun around the heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum.

For a person who doesn't know much about art I really enjoyed the parts of this about the forgery and overall found it to be a compelling story.

(I accidentally deleted my review from Goodreads so I don't recall exactly what my first impressions where. Rats!) ( )

Fun read. I really enjoyed the story which was fictional based on the art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum in Boston. ( )

On March 18, 1990, 13 works of art were stole from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there’s more to this crime than meets the eye. Making a living reproducing famous artworks for a popular online retailer and desperate to improve her situation, Claire is lured into a Faustian bargain with Aiden Markel, a powerful gallery owner. She agrees to forge a painting- a Degas masterpiece stolen from the Garden Museum-in exchange for a one-woman show in his renowned gallery. But when the very same long-missing Degas painting is delivered to Claire’s studio, she begins to suspect that it may itself be a forgery. ( )

Art thriller brain candy; not really my thing but I couldn't stop reading, so I guess I enjoyed it? Did raise some interesting questions about authenticity, What Is Art, etc.

The fact that "literary" is emblazoned on the cover of my copy makes me feel strongly that Jim Collins is right and literary fiction has become category fiction. Apparently if you write a book in which the characters demonstrate their knowledge and appreciation of high culture, it's literary fiction, even if stylistically it's more of an upmarket* thriller.

*Not really a big fan of the term "upmarket," but "books that your book club might discuss" isn't as succinct. ( )

The Art Forger is a difficult book to read. Unfortunately I only gave it two stars because I could not finish it. ( )

Whenever she's not painting, struggling artist Claire Roth has a "day" job: copying famous paintings for Reproductions.com, an online reseller. It doesn't pay well, but it covers the bills. When she invites a successful art dealer to view her latest paintings (her own, not the copies), he claims to like them, but what he's really there to do is commission a copy of an Edgar Degas painting that was stolen years ago from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. He's acting as a go-between the crooked seller and the crooked buyer, and he's asking not for a reproduction but for a forgery. "I'll sell your version to the buyer through many intermediaries so he can't trace it, pay off the seller so he won't come after me, and I'll give the authentic painting back to the museum. Win-win."

Though Claire has misgivings about this, she eventually relents and copies the Degas. She's so good at it that experts are fooled into believing it's the real thing. But when the buyer is caught with the painting, the FBI steps in, and now everybody's running. Will Claire have to prove that what they sold is only a copy and not the original? Will anyone believe her? And will it save her in any way?

This was a perfectly-written novel: good development, great characters, an intriguing plotline told from three different time periods: the present, three years earlier (when Claire was involved with her art professor), and the letters Isabella Stewart Garner writes to her niece commenting on her art-acquisition travels in Europe. The three interspersed storylines work quite well and build up to much suspense. I not just enjoyed this, but learned about art, art history, and the art of art forgery. :-) Highly recommended. ( )

Rating 4.85

Having recently enjoyed "Metropolis", Shapiro's latest, the topic and concept made this an obvious choice. Meticulously plotted, well researched and paced, we're brought into the world of art, forgery and theft.

We first meet Claire Roth, an MFA who like many artists struggles to gain notoriety. While in school she develops an intimate relationship with Isaac, one of her professors and their bond deepens over time. But when egos get in the way of artists, the outcome is rarely positive. Soon after the split, she learns his work has been selected for a gallery showing. Among the pieces is "4D" a contemporary piece about time, which alarms Claire since it was hers rather than Isaac's. Unable to prove she'd painted it, Claire becomes destitute and takes a job with a reproduction company where she learns the techniques of creating copies. Given her passion and skill with a paint brush, her reproductions are as good as the original, if not better.

Aiden Markel is a much sought after collector and gallery owner. He approaches Claire with a proposition to use her reproduction skills with a fine art piece rarely seen. A tidy sum along with a show at his gallery are the benefit. She experiences trepidation until he arrives with the Degas painting "After the Bath", claiming its the original that had been stolen decades previous. He tells her the copy will be sold to an anonymous buyer and the original be returned to its rightful home. Claire invests weeks researching forgery techniques and the painting's history and in the process, stumbles into a labyrinth of mystery.

In order to clarify the painting's history, the author inserts letters from one of Degas' lovers periodically. While the plot unfurls, Claire begins work on the copy and in the process falls head over heels for Markel. But like all good mysteries, darkness lurks in the corners.

Once the forgery is completed, emotions flair when Markel's story of the sale becomes suspect. Torn about her next move, she relies on her old friend Rik, an art museum curator who later becomes the white knight.

Shapiro's skill at building momentum and knowledge of the art world becomes obvious as is her ability to create believable, interesting characters. I couldn't help but think about similar plots in movies I'd seen, since art forgery has always been of interest. I would have given it 5 stars, but a tinge of predictability became evident early on, though she DOES throws a curveball toward the end.

There's little doubt the author has a knack for unique stories, characters, mystery and surprise. And those are the earmarks of good writing, Highly recommended in all respects. ( )

Flat story. I wish I could write a well thought out review. I did not like this book but I finished it so it gets 2 stars. It drags out for 3 /4 of the book and right when there is action it speeds up. The main character is morally wrong but she doesn't know it. She whines about her ex-boyfriend as if she didn't know what she was doing. She cries a lot. Worries about the same thing over and over. Boring book. ( )

I spent about 1/2 of the book not connecting, then it began to pull me in; I was finally able to connect with characters to the point that I cared. It was rolling along wonderfully then until the ending...suddenly we are six months later and there's this disconnect again. Too bad, the topic was an intriguing possibility for this real life inspired story. ( )

I confess to being wrapped up in the reading of this book and particularly the art of art forgery Shapiro unmasks. I have often wondered why a painting that has hung for hundreds of years on museum walls and been praised for its style and beauty is not just as valuable and just as precious when it is discovered that it was not painted by one of the greats but by his apprentice. Doesn't the art remain the same. Isn't it just as valuable as art even if it was painted by an unknown? We seem to carry our love of celebrity back into the ages before us and it is the name that sells.

Shapiro's main character, Claire, is a bit conflicted on the morality issues and a little heavy on excusing her own part in the disasters in which she becomes involved, but she is very human in wanting to be recognized for her talents. She is so susceptible to praise from what she considers the right sources and she is all too willing to compromise where she knows she should not in order to obtain the recognition that eludes her. In the process, she becomes entangled and must untangle a hell of a gordian knot. Even though it seemed obvious to me what the ultimate solution would be to the "mystery" of the painting, it was a fun ride to the end.

Shapiro gets high marks from me for her research and attention to detail. She is writing about a complicated subject in the art field and she obviously knows her stuff. The details of Belle Gardner's invented life fit seamlessly into what is known to be true about her, and the personality of Edgar Degas is also in keeping with his known traits. I was completely fascinated by the procedure Claire uses to produce her copies and found none of the explanations dry or over-written.

Some books are great, some are worthless, and some fall right in-between. This is one of the later. It isn't erudite, but it does have some points to make about human nature and Faustian deals. I will confess to being pretty upset when my Kindle battery expired and I had to wait overnight before reading the last four chapters and putting the story to bed. I have had some fairly heavy reading of late, and this was just plain, unadulterated fun. ( )

“A neon BUDWEISER sign hangs in the narrow window to scare the hip away.”
― Barbara A. Shapiro, The Art Forger

Interesting. I am not someone who knows alot about art and worried that I would not be able to get into the story because of that fact but I need not have worried.

I enjoyed Art Forger quite a bit. I loved how the author was able to weave bits of actual reality into modern fiction. I also learned much about what it is like to reproduce art for a living!

I saw a review or two that mentioned the book was not as literary as they hoped. I agree that it was not Literary in the same way as ...I don't know..The Gold Finch for example. But I do think The Art Forger had deeply literary aspects. Added to that, it was fast paced and fun.

The book is long but reads quickly and very enjoyable. You really get a crash coarse in Art as well.
The characters are quite interesting and complex. There is also romance in this book which may or may not please the reader. It is woven in very skillfully and is not a distraction..it is vital for the story line and plays a huge role in itself.

The only type of person I'd say would not like it would be people who have zero interest in art. You do not have to KNOW about art but if you dislike the world of art..you may want to skip this because Art breathes on every page! I actually liked it way more then I thought I would.

So to summarize.....I'd recommend it. It was an exhilarating and fun read and one that I think many will like very much. ( )

The Art Forger. B.A. Shapiro. 2012. I loved this book! It was just what a needed after Wolf Hall: a fast paced art thriller. Claire, a struggling artist in Boston, earned money to live on by making copies of famous paintings for a company to sell online. A gallery owner comes to her and promises her a one-woman show in his gallery if she will make a copy of a Degas painting. It is one of the paintings stolen from the famous Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum. It is one of the paintings stolen from the Gardener in 1990 none of which has ever been recovered. She does, and all hell breaks loose! ( )

This is a boilerplate page turner about a fictional painting stolen from the Gardner Museum in Boston. The plot was straightforward and the ending as expected. ( )

I liked the book very much and the narration was excellent. ( )

Almost twenty-five years after the infamous art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum—still the largest unsolved art theft in history—one of the stolen Degas paintings is delivered to the Boston studio of a young artist. Claire Roth has entered into a Faustian bargain with a powerful gallery owner by agreeing to forge the Degas in exchange for a one-woman show in his renowned gallery. But as she begins her work, she starts to suspect that this long-missing masterpiece—the very one that had been hanging at the Gardner for one hundred years—may itself be a forgery. The Art Forger is a thrilling novel about seeing—and not seeing—the secrets that lie beneath the canvas.

I really enjoyed this book ~ I have very limited knowledge of art however that did not prevent me from following this. The characters a bit 2 dimensional, but I found it hard to put down at times. ( )

The Art Forger, by Barbara Shapiro, was an enjoyable little mini-mystery based on one of the most brazen art thefts in history. The factual element in the book is based on the 1990 art theft from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Two thieves were able to enter the Museum by posing as police officers, and walked out with 13 works of art valued at $500 million. The crime remains unsolved to this day, and it remains the largest property crime in American history.

With that as background, The Art Forger takes a (fictional) look at what may happen to a stolen painting of such renown. The book takes place in current time, well after the paintings were stolen, and after the statute of limitations for the thefts have expired. The story centers around a young artist, Claire Roth, commissioned to make a reproduction of a Degas painting, one supposedly among those stolen from the Gardner Museum. This (fictional) painting was thought to be an original, but upon examination, may have been a forgery. The mystery was in trying to determine if in fact the painting was actually an original or a forgery, and if a forgery, when it was done, and by whom. It's not one of those stories where the hero (or heroine) has super-human powers, unbelievable mental powers, and performs rare feats of strength. For the most part, the individuals are believable, so you don't have to suspend reality to follow the story line and believe in its premise.

If you have any interest in art, and especially in art museums, you may find this book kind of fun. And it should make your next trip to the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in Boston more interesting, especially if there are empty spots on the walls where some of the actual paintings should be hanging. ( )

Fun quick read ( )

3.5***

Claire Roth is an aspiring artist who is making a living (just) by painting reproductions of old masters. And then she’s approached with an opportunity she cannot resist. A Degas painting is delivered to her studio, along with all the tools she’ll need to reproduce it … well, to actually forge the painting. In return she’ll not only be paid handsomely, but she’ll get her own show at Boston’s most prestigious gallery. But as she begins to study the original in preparation for painting the forgery, she makes a startling discovery.

Set against the backdrop of the infamous art theft at the Isabella Stewart Garner Museum in Boston – still the largest unsolved art heist in history – this is a marvelously intricate story. My feelings about Claire kept changing as I learned more of her backstory, and saw how vulnerable she was to being manipulated by unscrupulous men in a position of power. And then again, how could she be so stupid?!

Despite wanting to slap Claire silly a few times, I was engaged from beginning to end and Shapiro kept me turning pages to see what would happen next. ( )

Second only to books, I love a good story about art - or is it meta-art in this case? Either way, this novel is very similar in form to The Book People and The Lost Painting in that it is fiction based on on real events; in this case the largest art-heist in history from the Gardener museum. In the novel we follow Claire, an artist who is hired under dubious crcumstances to paint a forgery of one of the stolen Degas artworks - only it is not a real Degas that she is copying from! Things get heated as the forgery buyer is caught and arrested, and Claire must find the real Degas to save herself and her lover from jail time. Not everything works out quite as she plans, but that is what makes the story so real and so intriguing. ( )

Really enjoyed this action packed book focused on the world of art forgery. The pacing worked well and the characters were built out quite well for this kind of book. Indeed, I found myself wishing I could go to museum and experience fantastic art in person. Unfortunately, Covid precludes that. But, at least I'm thinking about growing my own collection of art to accompany the books. In the end, this literary thriller was an easy read that was just what I was looking for. It didn't change how I look people, but it did make me smile. ( )

Let's just say I've tried, but it's probably best to move on to a different book. ( )