John Myatt - Arrest and Trial

Arrest and Trial

In September 1995, Myatt was arrested by Scotland Yard detectives. He quickly confessed, stating that he had created the paintings using emulsion paint and K-Y Jelly, a mixture that dried quickly but was hardly reminiscent of the original pigments. He estimated that he had earned around £275,000 and offered to return £275,000 and to help to convict Drewe. He had come to dislike the deception and Drewe.

On April 16, 1996 police raided Drewe's gallery in Reigate, south of London in the county of Surrey, and found materials he had used to forge certificates of authenticity. Drewe had also altered provenances of genuine paintings to link them to Myatt's forgeries and added bogus documents to archives of various institutions in order to "prove" their authenticity.

The trial against Myatt and Drewe began September 1998. On February 13, 1999, John Myatt was sentenced to one year in prison for a conspiracy to defraud and was released the following June after serving four months of his sentence. Drewe was sentenced to six years for conspiracy and served two.