''Fake or Fortune?'' is a

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

documentary television series which examines the

provenance Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...

and attribution of notable artworks. Since the first series aired in 2011, ''Fake or Fortune?'' has drawn audiences of up to 5 million viewers in the UK, the highest for an arts show in that country. ''Fake or Fortune?'' was created by

art dealer An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art. An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationshi ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

Philip Mould, together with producer Simon Shaw. It was inspired by Mould's 2009 book ''Sleuth'', after which the programme was originally to be entitled. It is co-presented by Mould and journalist Fiona Bruce, with specialist research carried out by

Bendor Grosvenor Bendor Gerard Robert Grosvenor (born 27 November 1977) is a British art historian, writer and former art dealer. He is known for discovering a number of important lost artworks by Old Master artists, including Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Claude Lorrai ...

during the first 5 series. Forensic analysis and archival research is carried out by various fine art specialists. Each series first aired on BBC One, except for series 3, which was shown mistakenly on SVT in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

before being broadcast in the UK.

Format

In each episode Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce focus their attention on a painting (or a group of paintings), usually related to one particular artist. They travel around the country and the world, studying the artists at exhibitions, meeting up with international experts and following up local leads. Series 7, episode 5 saw the show tackle their first

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

, a work attributed to

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo to see his family and ...

. The team, assisted by art historian

in series 1 to 5, and professor

Aviva Burnstock Aviva Ruth Burnstock (born 1959) is head of the Department of Art Conservation & Technology at the Courtauld Institute, London. Professor Burnstock is a graduate of the University of Sussex (BSc. Neurobiology 1981) and took in 1991 a PhD at the ...

, Head of the Department of Conservation and Technology at The Courtauld Institute of Art, in later series, investigate the paintings on a number of fronts: establishing the provenance of the piece by working backwards from present day to the time of the work's creation; on a forensic level, with investigation and scientific tests on the materials used to help establish specific time frames; and examining the unique painting styles and quirks of the artist. This evidence is then presented to established authorities to help demonstrate the legitimacy of the work and its possible addition to the relevant '' catalogue raisonné''. The team does not always succeed. Philip Mould was stated to have considered the Series 4 case of a Churchill painting as one of the most unsatisfactory endings to date, before it was finally authenticated in 2020.

Series overview

Episodes

Series 1 (2011)

There were four episodes in the first series, which started on 19 June 2011: File:Bords de la Seine a Argenteuil - Monet.jpg, File:Winslow Homer's 'Children Under a Palm Tree'.jpg, ''Children Under a Palm Tree'' File:The Procuress.jpg, ''The Procuress'' File:Man in an Oriental Costume - Isaac de Jouderville.jpg, ''Man in an Oriental Costume''

Series 2 (2012)

The first episode of the second series was shown in the UK on 16 September 2012. The series had three episodes: Danseuse Bleue et Contrebasses - Edgar Degas.jpg, Edgar Degas - ''Danseuse Bleue et Contrebasses'' File:J.M.W. Turner - The Beacon Light.jpg, Turner – ''The Beacon Light'' File:J.M.W. Turner - Off Margate.jpg, Turner – ''Off Margate'' File:J.M.W. Turner - Margate Jetty.jpg, Turner – ''Margate Jetty'' File:Van Dyke Henrietta before.jpg, Van Dyck – ''Portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria, as St Catherine'' before restoration File:Attributed to Van Dyck - Queen Henrietta Maria as St Catherine.jpg, The same after restoration

Series 3 (2014)

The third series features four episodes. The first episode was first shown on 27 December 2013 on Sweden's SVT, with episodes 2 and 3 shown in the following weeks. Philip Mould described the appearance on Swedish television weeks ahead of the British premiere as a "weird BBC World cock-up". SVT on its website described the programme at the time as a "" (British documentary from 2012). File:Edouard Vuillard The Cafe.jpg, ''The Café'' (1918) by Édouard Vuillard File:Imaginary Landscape.jpg, ''Imaginary Landscape'' by Thomas Gainsborough A portrait of Joseph Gape.jpg, ''Portrait of Joseph Gape'' by Thomas Gainsborough

Series 4 (2015)

The series had four episodes: 'Descent from the Cross' by Francesco Montemezzano.jpg, ''The Deposition'' by Francesco Montemezzano

Series 5 (2016)

Filming for the fifth series started on 24 November 2015. The four-episode series was broadcast on 17 July 2016. Saint Amelia, Queen of Hungary Delaroche.jpg, '' Saint Amelia, Queen of Hungary'' by Delaroche Portrait of a Lady - Mercier.jpg, ''Portrait of a Lady'' by Philip Mercier

Series 6 (2017)

The sixth series started on 20 August 2017. It was originally planned to have four episodes before one, "Giacometti", was postponed. Tom Roberts Rejected.jpg, ''Rejected'' by

Tom Roberts Thomas William Roberts (8 March 185614 September 1931) was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. After studying in Melbourne, he travelled to Europe ...

Willy Lott's Cottage - Constable.jpg, '' Willy Lott's Cottage'' by

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, th ...

Series 7 (2018)

The seventh series consists of five episodes and started on 12 August 2018. Series 7 was broadcast at the same time that

BARB Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

changed their ratings system, the ratings have been sourced as follows: Episodes 1-3 are 28 day figures from BARB's old system. Episode 4 are 28 day figures from the new system. Episode 5 are 7 day figures from the old system. Dido Elizabeth Belle.jpg, ''Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay and her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray'' by

David Martin David or Dave Martin may refer to: Entertainment *David Martin (artist) (1737–1797), Scottish painter and engraver *David Stone Martin (1913–1992), American artist *David Martin (poet) (1915–1997), Hungarian-Australian poet and novelist *Dav ...

Emma Soyer (Emma Jones) Two Black Children.jpg, A painting of two black children by Emma Jones

Series 8 (2019)

On 25 July 2019 the eighth series began broadcast. Portrait of Peniston Lamb II - Thomas Lawrence.jpg, ''Peniston Lamb II'' by Thomas Lawrence

Series 9 (2021)

The Coronavirus pandemic disrupted the production schedule, but in September 2020 Philip Mould announced that pre-production of the ninth series had started. The ninth series, comprising four episodes, began on 26 July 2021. At Payer by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1858.jpg, ''At Prayer'' (1858) by Jean-Léon Gérôme ... Landseer - a collection of fifteen pictures and a portrait of the painter (1901) (14765825062).jpg, A print of ''Time of War'' (1901) by Edwin Landseer Second Sketch for The Last Supper by Benjamin West 1786.jpg, Second preparatory sketch for ''The Last Supper'' (1786) by Benjamin West (before restoration)

Series 10 (2022)

Reception

Describing the outcome of the first episode of series one as a "scandal", Sam Wollaston writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' found the programme "incredibly interesting" and praised it "for being about just one case in which you can become totally involved, instead of flitting between three, which is what so many documentaries seem to do". In ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', Ceri Radford was described as being "flabbergasted" at the result of the first episode, but concluded her review by saying: "This may have been a disappointing finale, but it at least confirmed that this aesthetically pleasing, quietly enjoyable new series isn't afraid to thwart expectations." Tom Sutcliffe in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' had a mixed view as a result of the presentation of the facts, saying: "It was full of cliffhanger tension and thrilling moments of discovery. But I couldn't entirely shift the suspicion that some of it was just a little too good to be true." The first programme of the third series, shown in the UK on 19 January 2014, had 4.8 million viewers (a 21.8% audience share) while the first programme of the fourth series attracted 4.85m (24.5%). The record audience for the series was on 12 July 2015 with a peak attendance of 5.8 million viewers (episode 4.2 "Renoir"). Reviewing an episode of the seventh series, Michael Hogan of ''The Daily Telegraph'' wrote: "Arts programming is an increasingly endangered beast on prime time television. This absorbing and enjoyable series flies the flag in quietly thrilling fashion." Benji Wilson, writing for ''The Daily Telegraph'', described the programme, then in its ninth series, as "the art world's answer to ''

Line of Duty ''Line of Duty'' is a British police procedural television series created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions. On 26 June 2012, BBC Two began to broadcast the first series; it was its best-performing drama series in ten years w ...

''".

International broadcasts

The programme had its North American premiere on Canada's

TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...

in 2011. It has also aired on PBS in the United States, and Series 4 has been available on Netflix (as Season 1) since December 2018. The programme airs on ABC in Australia.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title BBC television documentaries Documentary television series about art Art forgery 2010s British documentary television series 2020s British documentary television series 2011 British television series debuts English-language television shows Television series by BBC Studios