"AN original pastel drawing by one of the world's greatest art forgers is on display in Malvern," announced the Gazette 25 years ago.
"The drawing, by Hans van Meergeren, who died in 1947, is owned by local picture restorer Mr George Jack.
"It is not in itself a forgery, but commemorates the artist's greatest fake, which had many experts fooled for some time.
"After years of research, van Meergeren, disillusioned and frustrated in his own work, produced a forgery depicting the Last Supper which many experts acclaimed as a masterpiece by Jan Vermeer, one of the finest Dutch artists of the 17th Century.
"Mr Jack's pastel shows part of the Last Supper group of that painting paralleled in the bottom half by a modern-day group celebrating Holy Communion.
"Mr Jack said: 'Hans van Meergeren was perhaps the greatest forger of all, and he's been a hero of mine for years.
" 'I've always wanted one of his paintings and when this came available in New York many years ago, I bought it for £400.'
"Mr Jack said the value of van Meergeren's work was increasingly being recognised. The pastel can be seen in the window of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society on Belle Vue Terrace."
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