For nearly 30 years, art forger Mark Landis made headlines for duping dozens of museums into accepting fakes into their collections. Landis admits he has always had a mischievous streak. When contacting museums, he would often use aliases and dress like a Jesuit priest. With his odd demeanor and near encyclopedic knowledge of art history, Landis could easily come across as an eccentric art collector.

His skills with a pencil or paintbrush are undeniable. Often using a magnifying glass, Landis studies a print of an original work and, with meticulous attention to detail, copies exactly what he sees: religious icons, impressionist or modern works. His re-creations in the style of old masters are astonishing—and so are his tools. They include magic markers and pens and Wal-Mart frames … raw materials that proper forgers might not use.

More than 45 museums could not tell the difference between Landis' copies and original works. Not only were his fakes convincing, but he also knew exactly what to say when he met with museums. As one museum director explains, Landis would imply he had more paintings he might donate "and possible endowments from the family's estate." The museum director admits: "He knew right where to hit us. Our soft spot: art and money."