Fake or Fortune
Journalist Fiona Bruce teams up with art expert Philip Mould to investigate mysteries behind paintings.
Genre: Documentary, Mystery
Cast:Fiona Bruce , Philip Mould , Bendor Grosvenor , Aviva Burnstock , Anthea Callen , Nicholas Burnett , David Cranswick , Vernon Rapley , Léonore Baulac , Viviane Descoutures , Stephen Ames , Jon Lys Turner , William Feaver , James Kirkman , Alban Duparc , Denise Syndercombe-Court , Libby Sheldon , Nicholas Thornton
S1.E1 ∙ Monet
Journalist Fiona Bruce teams up with art expert Philip Mould to investigate mysteries behind paintings, starting with what they believe is an unrecognised work by Monet.
S1.E2 ∙ Homer
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a painting found dumped by a rubbish tip, which turns out to be a lost work by one of America's most important 19th century artists.
S1.E3 ∙ Van Meegeren
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould enter an art institute in London to try and answer a riddle behind a controversial painting that divides the opinion of scholars.
S1.E4 ∙ Rembrandt
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate mysteries behind paintings. A picture up for auction is suspected of having been stolen. Could it really be a Rembrandt?
S2.E1 ∙ Degas and the Little Dancer
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a painting believed by some to be a work by Edgar Hilaire Degas. Will they bring its owner life-changing news?
S2.E2 ∙ Turner: A Miscarriage of Justice?
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate three landscapes once thought to be by JMW Turner, which were bequeathed to the National Museum of Wales.
S2.E3 ∙ Van Dyck: What Lies Beneath
The tables are turned on art detective Philip Mould as one of his own purchases - a painting by Sir Anthony Van Dyck - is put under the microscope.
S3.E1 ∙ Vuillard
Art series with Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould. The team must convince a panel of experts that a scriptwriter's picture is an original by the French artist Edouard Vuillard.
S3.E2 ∙ Constable
Art series with Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould. The Fake or Fortune team tries to prove that not one but two paintings are missing works by John Constable.
S3.E3 ∙ Chagall
Art series with Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould, who delve into the Russian art market as they investigate a painting attributed to modern master Marc Chagall.
S3.E4 ∙ Gainsborough
The team investigate an 18th-century landscape that could be a lost work by of one of the biggest names in British art, Thomas Gainsborough.
S4.E1 ∙ Lowry
Philip and Fiona attempt to authenticate three small paintings attributed to British artist L.S. Lowry.
S4.E2 ∙ Renoir
Nicky Philipps, renowned for her pictures of the royal family, are investigating a painting from the walls of Picton Castle. The work was bought in the 1930s by her great-grandfather, who believed it was a work by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
S4.E3 ∙ A Mystery Old Master
The team investigate how a possible 16th-century Italian old master Francesco Montemezzano found its way into a small English church. And Philip is immediately struck by the imposing painting, which depicts one of the most dramatic scenes from the New Testament
S4.E4 ∙ Munnings and Churchill
The team attempts to validate the provenance of two inherited paintings found in a coal hole of a house, one which has been attributed to Alfred Munnings while the other may be the work of statesman and amateur artist Winston Churchill.
S5.E1 ∙ Freud
Fake or Fortune returns for a fifth series, beginning with one of the most challenging cases the team has ever encountered. Can art detectives Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce prove that a painting of a man in a black cravat is one of the first pictures ever painted by celebrated and controversial British artist Lucian Freud, even though Freud himself denied painting it? London-based designer Jon Turner is eager to prove that a painting he inherited from two friends is in fact an early portrait painted by Freud whilst at art school in 1939. If it's genuine, it could be worth around half a million pounds. But who is the mysterious man in the portrait - and why did Freud deny it was his work? As the team hunt for clues, they are drawn into a world of feuds, rivalries and intrigue. Can those who knew Freud best help unlock the painting's secrets?
S5.E2 ∙ Delaroche
The team travel to Scotland to investigate whether a painting bought by Becky Wilson's late husband Neil an art dealer for £500, is indeed a work by Paul Delaroche and a onetime royal treasure of France. If so how did it end up here.
S5.E3 ∙ Rodin
Investigation of a family heirloom - a watercolor drawing that may have been done by the famed sculptor Aguste Rodin one of a series he did of Cambodian dancers. They are challenged by a lack of provenance and a preponderance of forgeries
S5.E4 ∙ Portraits
The team investigated three portraits attributed to three different artists; Philip Mercier painting of a young woman, Adolph von Menzel painting of a formidable-looking man and Willem de Kooning painting of a child.
S6.E1 ∙ Constable
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould try to find out whether a beautiful English landscape is a lost masterpiece by John Constable.
S6.E2 ∙ Tom Roberts
An Australian couple contact Phillip and Fiona about a painting they purchased at auction for £7,500, it is signed Tom Roberts but can they actually prove this unknown painting is the work of a leading figure in Australian Impressionism.
S6.E3 ∙ Gauguin
Fiona and Phillip investigate two pieces possibly by Paul Gaugin. One of these works is a still life oil painting while the other is a simple sketch that may have a direct link to one of Gaugin's best known works 'When Will You Marry?'.
S7.E1 ∙ Nicholson
A William Nicholson painting purchased by a collector from an estate, which is not included in a 'catalogue raisonné' (a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known works by Nicholson) created by expert Patricia Reed, leads Fiona and Philip on a mission to try and convince Reed that it is indeed a genuine Nicholson painting.
S7.E2 ∙ Toulouse-Lautrec
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould head to France to try to authenticate a batch of sketches and watercolours supposedly produced by a teenage Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, works which had already been rejected by the Committee responsible for authenticating the work of Toulouse-Lautrec. They need to uncover proof which, they hope, will persuade the Committee to reassess their previous decision.
S7.E3 ∙ Henry Moore
A watercolour sketch thought to be by the British 20th-century sculptor Henry Moore was one of many artworks to have been looted by the Nazis from German museums in what they branded as degenerate art. Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould have been asked by the Museum of Fine Art in Bern, Switzerland, the owner of the piece, to investigate its provenance. They hope that their investigations will prove to the Henry Moore Foundation that the work is genuine.
S7.E4 ∙ A Double Whodunnit
Fiona & Phillip investigate 2 rare portraits of black British subjects from the 18th & 19th centuries, both highly unusual in their positive depiction of black sitters at a time when Britain was still very much engaged in slavery.
S7.E5 ∙ Giacometti
Art series with Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould. The team try to find out whether a stark, white square of plaster is one of Giacometti's earliest works.
S8.E1 ∙ The Lost Gainsborough
The team investigate an 18th-century landscape that could be a lost work by of one of the biggest names in British art, Thomas Gainsborough.
S8.E2 ∙ Cosway or Lawrence?
Can the team prove that a portrait attributed to pioneering female artist Maria Cosway is actually an undiscovered work of the great Regency artist Sir Thomas Lawrence?
S8.E3 ∙ De Chirico
Bought for just £1, could a small still life be the work of one of the masters of early 20th-century art, Giorgio de Chirico?
S8.E4 ∙ A Venetian View
Is it a Guardi or a Marieschi. Phillip and Fiona investigate a highly desirable Venetian view inherited by Nick Hopkinson from his great-grandfather Meyer Spielman.
S9.E1 ∙ A Sculpture in the Brambles
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate more potentially valuable works of art. They begin with a sculpture found in the long grass of a Norfolk home that bears striking similarities to the work of Henry Moore. The owners are sending the piece off to the Henry Moore Foundation, so Fiona and Philip are helping them compile a dossier of evidence. If it really is a lost work by one of the greatest 20th-century artists, then it could be worth up to £1million.
S9.E2 ∙ Gerome
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a small oil painting of a man praying in a mosque, a scene filled with meticulously painted and intriguing detail. Its owner, Jon Swihart, bought it at auction in 1999 and believed it to be the work of the 19th-century French artist Jean-Leon Gerome, who was a leading figure in the Orientalist genre of painting. When Jon bought the picture, it was listed as 'Circle of Gerome', having been downgraded by the leading authority on the artist at that time, Professor Gerald Ackerman. Previously, however, it had been fully attributed to Gerome, and Jon felt intuitively that it was a genuine work by the artist.
S9.E3 ∙ Landseer
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a painting that depicts the terrible aftermath of a battle. Owned by Kathy and Barry Romeril, who bought it in 1987, there are suspicions it may be a work by Victorian artist Edwin Landseer that was previously thought to have been destroyed by a flood in 1928. If so, the painting could be worth as much as £80,000.
S9.E4 ∙ A King's Last Supper
Anglesey farmer Huw Lewis bought a small painting depicting the Last Supper for £50 on the internet. After some online research, he thought it may have been painted by 18th-century artist Benjamin West, whose biggest fan was King George III. Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould set out to investigate, but soon discover the picture is in a worrying condition - and with the challenge of doing research in the middle of lock down, the odds are stacked against them.
S10.E1 ∙ Ben Nicholson
Could a curious wall painting discovered in the bedroom of a Surrey cottage be the work of one of the pioneers of modern British art, Ben Nicholson? If it is, can it be safely removed from the cottage before an extension is built?
S10.E2 ∙ Modigliani
Henrietta Sitwell inherited a sketch of a mother and child she believed to be by the 20th-century artist Amedeo Modigliani, but she has also been told it might not be genuine. Can the team find some answers?
S10.E3 ∙ Sisley
The team investigate a charming little landscape of a French village with a river running through it, purported to be by one of the founding members of the 19th-century impressionist movement, the British artist Alfred Sisley.
S10.E4 ∙ Flemish Old Master
Can Fiona and her team of art experts identify the Flemish master who painted a masterpiece hanging on the wall of a Scottish church?
S11.E1 ∙ Elisabeth Frink
A sculpture found at a car boot sale in Essex bears striking similarities to the work of one of the 20th century's greatest artists Dame Elisabeth Frink. Can the team prove it's part of an edition sculpted by her in the 1950s?
S11.E2 ∙ Joshua Reynolds
A painting bought from an online auction in Monaco described as 'in the style of Sir Joshua Reynolds' looks promising, but could something murkier be lurking beneath the paint?
S11.E3 ∙ Cezanne and Pissarro
Could 2 sketches be by great French artists Pissarro and Cezanne? Dominique Rogers thinks her sketch of a tree is by Cezanne. Zana Glasser inherited a drawing of cabbage sellers that has already been rejected by Pissarro experts.
S11.E4 ∙ Arshile Gorky
Could a mysterious, murky canvas covered in white paint be hiding a lost painting by one of the most important painters of the 20th century, Armenian-American artist Arshile Gorky?
