even when I was in prison and I asked
the governor can I have a single sales I
wanted a pain I was actually doing fates
in there the government said I explained
it I hope you're not doing any of those
dodgy in their way no God no no
God no no I was doing Sammy Obama's I'll
paint any subject I throw in front of me
anything but doing it for 45 years you
know my name is Max Brenner it alias max
the forger I'm not going to say on the
greatest forger but raised and loved
doing it in fact one of my pictures
turned up on Antiques Roadshow yeah
under this mine where I was born in
Brighton one-bedroom flat food was
scarce
it was poverty it was real poverty in
those days the authorities would just
take you away to a home the first
Barnardo's I arrived in 1955 after the
homes my count of 15 years old
and we were allowed out and fortune my
mum was living with not a nice person he
beat me up one night and I decided to do
a runner I got the Evening Standard and
he said men wanted for circus so it got
up to Chipping Norton did the guys
standing and then he said what you want
son I'll sit down and he jobs and he
took me in to this tent with 12
elephants all lined up and he said John
I'd look after these thing I said yeah I
don't know and he said you'll be raking
out you'll be washing them down and so
you'll be sleeping in a corner with the
camels it wasn't ready Clem was in the
corner there Lilly and Mary camera Susie
day LaDonna Ronnie's teacher may labeled
Jamie and Sally and I did that for two
years then I went to London and always
always painted I start looking for our
canvases I'd clean them all off I'd run
them right down prime them then I think
rush load a picture of George Washington
Nelson Napoleon shipping scenes as I did
the whole lot there was an antique
dealer but he was a con man asking me
that I do the pictures he thought they
were prints you thought I'd retouched
him I said now I paint them we teamed up
he Cameron said no I think we could do
well I'm gonna tell you a little trick
that we did the B glue comes in dry form
you soak overnight in cold water the
next morning you've got a jelly you put
it on the stove and then it's a liquid
it's like a varnish so you get your
picture you varnish it over you go to
your heater and you circulate the
painting so that heat goes all over the
where the varnish is it you can actually
hear it cracking though then you think
right got enough cracks in it take it to
your tap wash the bead glue off you're
left with the cracks empty Hoover onto
it rub it in dust it all off all your
cracks are filled with dirt and black
old nails back to where they should be
old varnish on top of that under glass
you couldn't tell unless it's taken out
the frame and goes under x-ray you
couldn't tell that was it there's soap
used to do it
the buzz in the auction rooms are right
turn on you know so soon as we got the
menu option we would go to the preview
you know that peach is only a week old
and it's dated 1790 right and you listen
to the comments and I'd loved it would
she go up and then yeah it was great I
just have loved the selling side I've
got about ten pictures together only
small ones went down the Portobello Road
set up my little pitch I had a blanket
with my pictures on one day this young
kitty came down beautifully dressed sue
you said can you do one picture for my
friend got this photograph it was a
photograph of a lady about 50 so I did
the picture framed it took about the
following week he came down up to my
friends throughout the pub up there open
the door recognized straight away Ronnie
Kray and Reggie Ronnie gets up and he
comes over to me he goes hey Reggie a
look at is a Balu girl is Reggie in that
ma'am yes ma'am Anu is god any God day
said Islam all over and he kept saying
it they turned around in his centre have
a drink
and I sat with him Sam we're in between
his two they were big guys it was
frightening that was in 1967 a few
months after that they were nicked for
the shooting of George canal when I met
Tom Keating I'd teamed up with him and
oh we started to do the real naughties
you know the big money's we were in a
big big galleries making big money
Sammy Palmer's were our best bet he was
good as Sam you promised but I was
better at the oil painting doing the
Marines you know I could do constable
and Albert Derby
old fishing scenes seascapes you name it
I did it
Tom was selling him 1n cheap shot I was
selling the other and he was so sloppy
when he had a drink the bottom of the
sea was still wet so it came off in his
hand
we had to charge down with erendor High
Street and we couldn't find a car we've
got these two antique dealers chasing us
going you owe your weight you'll get
your hands on you in the car and God so
many things happened at wonderful
Tom passed away in 85 and I carried on
faking Keating's work as well
it was much sought after I just have
signed it from Katie I was hitting all
the auction rooms on that a member of
the fraud squad wanted Nick me I've got
18 months this is me in the picture here
I did this painting with the vendor
valve I got Nick for this picture five
days after there I was in a holding cell
in London the next time I got need I
said to the judge I'm serious like drugs
or get withdrawal symptoms I see no
cameras and my fingers start to shake Oh
God do it you know you know what it's
like to be released at 8 o'clock in the
morning when those big doors open and
you walk out great great feeling that's
why I couldn't do it again I'm in a good
place now I paint what I like you know I
love being surrounded by my work here I
love it
ok I went after rouse slightly but you
know I'm back on track now what and I
have been yeah
true stories every one of them
[Music]
[Applause]