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A painting on the popular BBC history show Fake Or Fortune? has made history after its staggering worth was revealed.
Purchased for a comparatively minimal £2,000 at auction, its buyer, David Taylor, wondered if there was more to the impressionist piece than initially met the eye after he took the painting out of its frame.
That’s when he spotted the signature of renowned Canadian painter Helen McNicoll – one of the art world’s biggest names in the early 20th century.
With the help of presenters Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould and the wider Fake Or Fortune? team, the painting was confirmed to be authentic – and worth a staggering £300,000.
Entitled The Bean Harvest and created in the early 20th century, the painting had actually been on display in 1912 and 1913, but its whereabouts since then have been a mystery.
The painting was described as ‘fantastic’ by Canadian philanthropist and collector Pierre Lassonde, who travelled to the UK to specifically examine the lost artwork.
The art enthusiast said: ‘For a painting that has been missing for 110 years I think it’s fantastic… I wouldn’t mind adding one more piece to my collection.’
Fiona said: ‘I’d not heard of Helen McNicoll before we started investigating this painting, but what a pioneer she was – a woman at that time, the early 20th century, travelling abroad with her easel while profoundly deaf.
‘I’m so glad we’ve been able to bring her name to wider attention.’
Bruce added: ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery – the type many art buyers dream of – and a reflection of both David’s shrewd eye and the massive increase and desire for the work of high-quality women artists that is motivating collectors and museums on both sides of the Atlantic.’
The painting’s buyer, David, described the process of authenticating the artwork as an ‘adventure’, but admits that he believed it was the real deal ‘from day one’.
He said: ‘It’s been an absolute adventure, the Fake Or Fortune team and the have made the journey memorable and exciting.
‘I believed in the painting from day one, and I’m hopeful that it could achieve a record price.’
Ahead of the painting’s impending auction, it is being kept safely stored in an art gallery.
While David has already been offered a whopping £300,000 for the painting from a private collector, he thinks that it will sell for even more at auction.
He has therefore decided to try his luck with London’s Sotheby’s in the hope of raising enough money to buy a bungalow that better suits his medical needs.
David said: ‘I needed to sell it. I couldn’t insure a £300,000 painting so I had to do something with it.
‘Sotheby’s were there and they said: “we have got a sale coming up”, so I thought that tis was perfect. I am hoping for a record price.’
A source told The Mirror: ‘Who’d guessed that Fake Or Fortune? would end up like David Dickenson’s Real Deal?
‘Owner rejects a huge offer and tries his luck at auction, it’s gripping stuff.’
Fake Or Fortune airs on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer.
