The Forgery Show is an annual art exhibit in Mount Shasta, CA, which showcases expertly-executed reproductions in oil of world-renown masterworks. The Forgery Show began in 2013 when eleven separate reproductions of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa were displayed at a local gallery in the city of Mount Shasta. Since then the number of participating artists has increased, as well as the variety of masterworks represented.
In the days of Jacques-Louis David and Léon de Gerome, artists who entered into apprenticeship with an artist-teacher would first learn skills of paint mixing and brush-making, then would copy the paintings of the master teacher and other master artists. Copying the works of established artists was a common, if not the only possible, method available for an aspiring artist to learn painting technique in an age without cameras and digital reproduction capabilities.
