Don Lowry’s con unfolded very slowly over two decades. When it was finally exposed, some of the victims defended the people who had been fooling them. They preferred to believe the lie.
.. But the two stories you’ll hear today raise profound questions about authenticity and nature of human belief: If you believe something is real, if you can fall in love with someone or stand in awe of a painting, is it possible that it doesn’t actually matter whether the object of your affection is fake?
Later we’ll explore the art of forgery, with a tale of a painter who tricks the world’s greatest art experts into believing they are looking at masterpieces.