Two Artists: Vermeer's Forger
Informational (nonfiction) 1,147 words, Level R (Grade 3), Lexile 930L
Two Artists: Vermeer's Forger tells the story of a young child, Han Van Meegeren, and his desire to spend his life as an artist. Van Meegeren goes to school to become an architect and designs a few buildings; however, he realizes he still loves painting, so he quits to study art. He becomes frustrated early on because critics say he has no talent. To get back at them, he decides to take on a famous painter's style and forge his paintings. Even though he works very hard and becomes very rich, his dishonesty does not pay off in the end. Illustrations support the text.