Voting Station

Eric Hebborn

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Artist

The Resume

    (March 20, 1934-January 11, 1996)
    Born in South Kesington, England, United Kingdom
    Artist turned art forger
    Forgeries included the works of Anthony Van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens, Nicolas Poussin, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Jan Brueghel the Elder
    Wrote the autobiography 'Drawn to Trouble' (1991) and the book 'Art Forger's Handbook Overlook' (1997 - published posthumously)
    Subject of the 1991 documentary film 'Eric Hebborn: Portrait of a Master Forger'
    Murdered in Rome at age 61

Why he might be annoying:

    At age eight, he set his school on fire and was sent to a reformatory school.
    He bore a resemblance to Gabe Kaplan.
    In 1960, British art historian and spy Anthony Blunt told him some of his works looked like they were done by Nicolas Poussin, which gave him the idea to become a forger.
    He was first thought of as a forger in 1978 because two of the works he sold were painted by artists from two different time periods, but the paper used was identical.
    Nobody wanted to admit they were duped by him, so he continued duplicating and selling paintings until 1984 when he confessed to being a forger.
    He maintained he did nothing wrong and berated the art world on how easily he fooled supposed experts.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Growing up, his mother beat him regularly.
    He attended the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts in London, winning several awards and receiving a two year scholarship to the British School at Rome in 1959.
    Before becoming a forger, he made a living restoring paintings and reproducing some historic works.
    His career as a forger was profitable, and he was never charged with any crime.
    He was such a good painter that even after revealing his deception, he was able to sell some of his works.
    On January 8, 1996, he was found lying on a street in Rome with the back of his skull smashed in by a blunt object.
    He died in a hospital three days later, and nobody has ever been charged in his murder.

Credit: Scar Tactics


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 16 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 55 Votes: 81.82% Annoying