The Art Forger

One of the central themes of The Art Forger is the question of what makes a work of art original and how much of its value depends on its provenance. Concerns about originality in art are always tied to capitalistic determinations of value. Any work of art can be reproduced a theoretically infinite number of times—whether by hand, using artisanal techniques as Claire does, or by industrial, mechanized processes—but there can only ever be one original. This scarcity, combined with the cultural prestige of the specific work, equates to monetary value.

In the novel, Claire earns money by painting reproductions of famous artworks for an online store, reproductions.com. Though not regarded as original, her work commands a far higher price than the prints made by machines. The source of this higher value is scarcity. There are few people with Claire’s skills, and her work takes time. Reproductions of this kind are therefore harder to come by than mechanized prints, which can be turned out by the hundreds. Claire’s hard-earned skill allows her to earn a living even as it forces her to spend her time doing work that does not express her own vision.

The second component of an artwork’s value is its cultural prestige, which is much more