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BBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Fake or Fortune finds £35 painting is worth up to £50,000
A painting bought by an art blogger as part of a pair for £35 has been verified as a work by New Zealand artist Frances Hodgkins and worth up to £50, Cantus, who lives near Cambridge, bought the picture in 2019 when Hertfordshire County Council sold off its mid-20th Century art was originally attributed to Vera Cunningham, but BBC One programme Fake or Fortune has now discovered its true Kisler, an art historian from New Zealand and the foremost authority on Hodgkins, told the show: "I emphatically think it is by Frances Hodgkins." Mr Cantus bought the painting in 2019 at an auction as part of the county council's Pictures for Schools was one of two in the same lot attributed to paid £35 for the pair but wanted only one of them, and the painting that would later turn out to be by Hodgkins was discarded in a barn he used for he put a picture it on his blog, someone contacted him to say they thought it was a Hodgkins work, and so he began his quest to verify that – ending up on Fake or the painting had no provenance, art experts, historians and an archivist all featured in the research. Mr Cantus said the picture might have been broken while on show at a school, and when it was reframed the original labels that on the back of the picture might have of staff changes at the council, when the picture was returned no-one put a new label identifying it as a Hodgkins, so it remained unattributed for years and its value was not spotted. Who was Frances Hodgkins? Born in New Zealand, she left in 1901 and spent the rest of her life in EuropeA breakthrough in public recognition came in 1929 when her friend and fellow artist Cedric Morris suggested she should be selected for the Seven & Five Society, exhibiting alongside Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Henry MooreBy the 1940s, her work was being lauded in the British pressToday, she is little known outside her native New Zealand, where galleries have been "very active in buying and repatriating the works", said Mr CantusSource: Art UK Hodgkins expert Ms Kisler studied the painting."You can read Robjn's painting as fitting in to a really large number of Hodgkins's works. When you lay those works side-by-side you can see absolutely that Robjn's work fits among them," she Cantus said he was "ecstatic" to hear her verdict."I do wonder if this is October Landscape," said Ms Kisler, referring to a painting by Hodgkins that had not been found. "I think it's a damn good one – I'd love to have it myself."Art expert Philip Mould, who co-presents the BBC programme with Fiona Bruce, said Ms Kisler's verification was "unquestioningly justifying that valuation of £40,000 to £50,000 but also, as a result of this endorsement, it's a picture that hereon will be seen and admired". Mr Cantus said he did not intend to sell it, and it was nice to know that it had been "enjoyed by children, seen on walls – that it was toured from school to school".The painting is now believed to be of an old Roman goldmine painted by Hodgkins when she was staying in Wales at the age of 73."The picture has grown on me immensely," Mr Cantus added."I don't have any idea where I'm going to put it but I'll find a space somewhere." A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: "It's obviously a bit disappointing to find out that we could have raised more money for local services through the sale of this painting, but we are confident that we took good professional advice on the valuation based on the information available at the time."As Fake or Fortune shows, the art market is unpredictable, with experts often having different views on the same piece." Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Cambridge blogger discovers story of painting on Fake or Fortune
An art blogger will soon discover if a painting he bought for £35 is by a well-known New Zealand artist and worth up to £50,000. Robjn Cantus, who lives near Cambridge, bought the picture in 2019, when Hertfordshire County Council sold off its mid-20th Century art collection. Attributed to Vera Cunningham, he now believed it was by Frances Hodgkins (1869- 1947) and he said he "bought it because it was the right price, £35 isn't a lot".The story of his quest features on BBC One's Fake or Fortune on Monday. The council said it "took professional advice on the value of each of these pieces" ahead of the sale. "The painting came up for sale as some of the less important works from the Hertfordshire Council Pictures for Schools Scheme in 2019," said Mr Cantus."I went on a bit of a trolly-dash buying the works, as many where not expensive and there were many items in each lot."Mr Cantus needed illustrations for a book he has since written on Pictures for was a 20th Century project, the brainchild of Nan Youngman, which bought modern British art to lend to schools and "give children artwork that was inspiring to look at". The council made more than £440,000 from its initial sale of the artworks. A council spokesperson said the sell-off followed a review of its collection and a public consultation. "We sold a number of works judged to have little or no significance to Hertfordshire at auction in 2019... with the money raised being invested in local services," they said."One of our aims in selling these works was to find them a better home than our storerooms where they could be properly displayed and appreciated, so whilst it may turn out that this specific painting was worth more, we are pleased that it has found a good home with a new owner." Who was Frances Hodgkins? Born in New Zealand, she left in 1901 and spent the rest of her life in EuropeA breakthrough in public recognition came in 1929 when her friend and fellow artist Cedric Morris suggested she should be selected for the Seven & Five Society, exhibiting alongside Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Henry MooreBy the 1940s, her work was being lauded in the British pressToday, she is little known outside her native New Zealand, where the galleries have been "very active in buying and repatriating the works", said Mr CantusSource: Art UK Mr Cantus admitted he did not even want the picture, but he did want to acquire works by Vera Cunningham - and it was sold as a pair attributed to Cunningham."The Fake or Fortune picture had been put in a horrid 1970s frame, when the original frame was damaged," he original labels on its back were lost and "then it is likely someone guessed it was a Vera Cunningham and wrote it on the back". Mr Cantus put a photograph of it on his blog and thought no more about it until 2021, when someone got in touch to suggest it might be by Ms it out of the frame, he discovered another painting on the other side of the canvas. Having done as much investigating as he could, he got in touch with Fake or Fortune because "it gives members of the public the chance to get a painting validated"."I enjoyed what happened off the camera as much as on," he said."Then you have an out-of-body experience: 'Why am I up a hill, in Wales, with Fiona Bruce, looking at a Roman goldmine?'."The outcome of the investigation is not being revealed until the programme goes out."I stopped thinking of the painting when I cycled back from London with it in a Primark bag," he or Fortune is on BBC One at 21:00 BST on Monday. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
