If I'm allowed to have a favorite forger, which I know sounds a little bit funny,

it would be Eric Hebern, who's really the Prince of Art Forgers.

He's the only one of over 60 that I look at in my book,

who I think is at the same level as the artist he forged.

This is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedanthan.

On today's podcast, how the brain tells real from fake,

when it comes to fine art and fine wine.

We start with Noah Charney, author of The Art of Forgery.

We talk about Master Forger, Eric Hebern.

And his story is one of revenge over monetary gain.

That's why he turned to Forgery.

He initially had been a failed artist.

He couldn't get traction with his own original artworks,

even though he had some serious talent.

And he had been at a flea market and he purchased some drawings

that he thought might be a value.

He brought them to an art gallery in London.

And the gallery is said,

this is pretty good, I'll take it off your hands, not bad.

So he sold them and he made a profit, so he was quite pleased.

But then he came back past the gallery a little bit later

and saw that it was in the window the very object he had sold

...