Origins & Early Life

Elmyr de Hory (born Elemér Albert Hoffmann; April 14, 1906 – December 11, 1976) was a Hungarian-born painter and art forger. It is claimed he was responsible for producing over a thousand forgeries that were sold to reputable art galleries all over the world. His activities garnered celebrity from a Clifford Irving book, Fake (1969), and a documentary essay film by Orson Welles, F for Fake (1974). De Hory claimed that he was born into an aristocratic family, that his father was an Austro-Hungarian ambassador and that his mother came from a family of bankers.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

However, subsequent investigation has suggested that de Hory more likely had a middle-class childhood; he was born Elemér Albert Hoffmann on April 14, 1906. (An acquaintance, Fernand Legros, said that de Hory was born in Budapest (Hungary) 14 April 1905, but that de Hory changed the date to 1914 to appear younger.) Both his parents were Jewish. His father's occupation was listed as "wholesaler of handcrafted goods". His parents did not divorce when he was sixteen, as he had asserted in the Clifford Irving biography. At the age of 16, he began his formal art training in the Nagybánya artists' colony (now in Romania...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• A. J. P. Taylor — Contemporary (Born in 1906) (1906): Influential English historian specializing in 19th and 20th-century European diplomacy.
• Ajahn Buddhadasa — Contemporary (Born in 1906) (1906): Pioneering Thai Buddhist monk known for reinterpreting doctrine and fostering religious reformation.
• Aristotle Onassis — Contemporary (Born in 1906) (1906): Greek shipping magnate who amassed a massive fleet and achieved global fame.
• A Day at the Races (album) — Contemporary (Born in 1976) (1976): Queen's fifth studio album, a companion piece to A Night at the Opera.
• Adolph Zukor — Contemporary (Died in 1976) (1976): Pioneering Hungarian-American film producer, co-founder of Paramount Pictures.
• Agatha Christie — Contemporary (Died in 1976) (1976): The 'Queen of Crime,' a master of the mystery genre, best-selling author of all time.
• Adrien Brody — Shared historical date (04-14 · Born) (1973): Acclaimed American actor known for intense, emotionally charged character portrayals.
• Ali Akbar Khan — Shared historical date (04-14 · Born) (1922): Master sarod virtuoso who popularized Hindustani classical music in the West.
• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn — Shared historical date (12-11 · Born) (1918): Dissident author who exposed Soviet repression, notably the Gulag system.
• Anne Rice — Shared historical date (12-11 · Died) (2021): Pioneering Gothic and Erotic Fiction, best known for The Vampire Chronicles.
• 1906 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1906
• April 14 (04-14) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on April 14
• 1976 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1976
• December 11 (12-11) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on December 11