Fernand Legros
Today’s stenciled creation is of eccentric bad ass Fernand Legros, who during the beginning of the 1960’s sold and distributed over 400 forged pieces of art. Most of the pieces were done by his friend and master forger Elmyr De Hory, who is credited with being one of the greatest art forgers of our time. Legros was a high speed operator with a pot in every oven of Hells Kitchen.

“…When asked by US customs what was in his luggage, he claimed that the paintings were copies. US customs would then call upon art experts to determine if Largos was trying to cheat them, and driven by such suspicions, these specialists concluded that these paintings were genuine. Legros would pay the fine and then was able to show his customers an official customs document proving the authenticity of the works he was selling!”

In these crazy times, while we debate and rethink copyright controls, sometimes it’s important to highlight the distributor as much as it is to celebrate the copycat.

Many believe that Largos was also the inspiration for Akass, one of Hergé Moulinsart’s Tintin characters. You be the judge.