FAKE OR FORTUNE SE06EO1 JOHN CONSTABLE

There are few more iconic paintings in British art than Constable's The Hay Wain. A picture with a direct link to this milestone in British art would be the holy grail for any collector or museum and the picture appears to depict the very same scene, Willy Lott's cottage on the banks of the River Stour.
The trouble is, Constable is one of the most faked artists of the 19th century, and the painting has a chequered past. Thirty years ago, several top Constable experts decided that it was not an authentic work. It is a particularly personal case for Philip Mould, who briefly owned the painting in the past but had to let it slip through his fingers after he failed in his attempts to prove its authenticity.
Now scientific analysis techniques have moved on and neglected records can be searched more deeply online, can the latest advances and deep research into the picture's provenance turn up enough evidence to prove that it is a genuine work by John Constable?

[@carolelerman9686]

Anyone else binge watching this show?

[@DJPsyfer]

YEP.. Thanks to Netflix posting up 4 eps. a few weeks ago. LOL

[@carolelerman9686]

@@DJPsyfer Wonder why we are paying netflix when there a many shows on you tube?

[@warrenbridge6423]

Yes, it’s TV crack.

[@h0style]

Some stahp me..... So good!

[@hodderpaul]

Yes, can't get enough of it. I'm more in the skill and cheek of the fakers/forgers.

[@SAGHAJAR]

Without a doubt one of the best series in art BBC has produced in recent years.

[@avlasting3507]

Absolutely.

[@ravemaster04]

whoever you are thank you for uploading these vids. you are introducing me to Great Masters that i don't know.

[@mightwenotbehappy]

Ravemaster 04 your welcome 🙏

[@christinemalaka8636]

I'm absolutely gutted for Philip, as he is, of course, you can tell, since he didn't keep the painting himself. But he and the owner clearly have a special friendship and maybe that's worth more? WHAT a brilliant show

[@rebeccawindham8749]

I have to echo many of these comments. This series is by far one of the best “reality” shows I have ever seen; really simply one of the best tv series I’ve ever seen, period. This particular Constable episode stands out. Kudos to Ms. Bruce, Mr. Mould, the producers, cast and crew. Surely this show has won awards!!???

[@MrSteamDragon]

This is how documentaries should be made. Kept me glued to the moment of truth. Brilliant.

[@jeremypearson6852]

Without the advent of technology many of these works could never be reassessed by experts. The amount of background research that goes into making this series is very impressive.

[@carlotta4th]

While I agree in general this particular work won the experts over mostly with it's increased provenance. I'm sure it was a lot harder to chase down such provenance 20 years ago, though (or Phillip would have found it).

[@marthab.higgins149]

I just stumbled across this show that I'd never even heard of and am blown away with how wonderful it is! Bravo BBC!

[@TsetsiStoyanova]

Been binge-watching all episodes flat!

[@barryeva9186]

Me too.

[@elkebert6382]

@@barryeva9186 L oh

[@jessicamartinez3613]

Me too.

[@AsianDramaniac]

Sooo satisfying to see how they chased the provenance bit by bit back to the painter himself!

[@ivorytower99]

Brilliant! I absolutely love this series, as well as Philip Mould's own personal 'DIY' series "Art In Isolation". What is more, as an artist, is that I find these programmes incredibly inspiring, which have lead me to creating my own home studio; and they've helped me push-out more paintings.

[@FigaroHey]

Led, not 'lead.' And 'push out' is a phrasal verb. It's not hyphenated.

[@ivorytower99]

@@FigaroHey NBD. It's a typo. GAL!

[@notpocky9806]

@@FigaroHeywondering why you felt the need to correct perceived grammatical errors on a statement that is so happy and full of positive energy? Is your own predicament just truly dull? You must be a real blast at parties. Float above them all, mere peasants. 🤣😂🤦‍♀️

[@notpocky9806]

@@ivorytower99paint on! Keep that positive vibe and jam it right over this upright chap’s head 😂🎉

[@ivorytower99]

@@notpocky9806, he probably writes from a KZbin 'burner' account.

[@muffin6369]

I really think my dear Philip is going to cry when they were looking at it. Jaws on the ground for sure. LOL But as with anyone who has an interest in something and you LOVE that something or interest you literally devour anything on that subject/interest. Mine is British history so I love all the great history channels on youtube. But you can see it in the art world, archaeology, historians. The love. A little tiny pot sherd comes out of the ground, and everyone's stands around with their jaws on the ground!! The thought that that little sherd was part of something else. PHILIP LOVES THIS WORLD!

[@darceysmith3445]

I love this series. But eventually Philip gets on my nerves. He is so far up his own backside. And bloody stop calling them pictures!!! Please paintings or portraits.

[@brendanhegarty6792]

It looks like Dr Bendor Grosvenor has been replaced by a touchscreen for this series.

[@giuseppenero110]

That would explain why nobody thought to check Cristie's for the sales record to the first owner from Constable's son

[@persebra]

i recently discovered this show and i am immensely enjoying it. I am a Yank and have never heard of Constable. Not my particular taste at first, but the work does draw one in... Really loved the parts of the show where the lady is needling the art dealer!

[@neilfranklin5644]

Great find the two pencil sketches did it for me.

[@thepz22]

What amazed me the most that uk & us really have an extensive & neat catalogued history that can go back to 18 century. 👍🏻🙌🏻

[@muffin6369]

Fiona was really feeling IT too. How could you not. It is just beautiful. OMG

[@jhunifiedwithlove9750]

Philip: Goodbye 2M pounds. Omg! Just an amazing instance...

[@lanascottlighthouse4934]

At 50:10, they sure do sound like Scully and Mulder.. ❤❤❤(for those of you that don't know that's THE X-FILES)😂

[@lanascottlighthouse4934]

I'm from Mississippi and there has been a long-term a senator I think he's a sitting there anyway his last name is LOTT.. I cannot remember what is first name is but now I know that LOTT is English!

[@lainieivanoff1]

I’m binge watching this show

[@karinae6388]

Same lol I even bought the membership. Although I only saw 4 episodes available, I’ll have to investigate where the rest of the episodes are

[@mixsetup]

Man wouldn't you feel bad selling it for 35,000 and then standing there being told it's now worth a heap more

[@AFAskygoddess]

Technically he resold a STOLEN PAINTING. It belongs to the family in California.

[@Satu-zs7gm]

@@AFAskygoddess it's deemed as fake and then "lost" or forfeited during logistics tho, so it's not stolen, the person just didn't care about the fake painting and forfeited it to the logistics

[@jeffpetrie7744]

Fantastic episode! I love how British people say the name of my home city, Looz Angeleez. 😎

[@MichaelandCathy1999]

After seeing so many others ripped off by so called “Experts”, it’s heartening to finally being part of a glorious dream come true. Bravo! 🇨🇦👍

[@usaisamess8880]

As a Norwegian I'm spoiled with insane nature, but the English countryside is awesome!!

[@davidsauer6286]

So, what about the painting belonging to the Smith estate, sent to London, rejected and lost/sold? Would this not also fall into a legal war, as had the Homer watercolor?

[@AFAskygoddess]

That's what I was thinking. The painting was legally stolen from the family when it was resold.

[@kolias33]

Thanks a lot for sharing this very interesting series. I do enjoy them so much!!!

[@poyntz55]

i just watch for Fiona

[@racheldixon387]

Philip must be kicking himself!

[@furdiebant]

Rachel Dixon he did well for his client and enhanced his reputation - he'll be fine

[@davidblack2970]

I was waiting for the bit where they did a chemical analysis of the paint and compared it to other known paint samples.

[@nickg8424]

dude was pissed! tried twice. however i would buy a painting from him, anyday. his stock went way up.

[@yourartcollectionstory]

Yes, these episodes are so intriguing, you have to binge watch! The wondrous masterpieces, the mystery of the masters, we need more of these shows.

[@andreaandrea6716]

Thank you so much for posting these! They are so inspiring and such a push back to all the rubbish that is produced for television ... especially in the US. I am deeply grateful. They bring joy to each day!!

[@susananderson5435]

lets cut to the chase philip must be gutted 😁😁

[@victoriaguckian8578]

I just came across these videos and can't stop watching.

[@johnnydtractive]

I'm sure it's intentional, but the shot of the Thames at 29:55 is like an updated Constable, complete with roiling sky & dab of red in the corner.

[@gilheuss7830]

Having worked as an ex-pat in the UK for a lot of years, I think I can safely say there are many times and places in the UK today that look like a Constable painting.

[@stuarthurley4262]

I got goosebumps of how beautiful it was seeing the wind roll through the meadows

[@Chloe-oz9nv]

One of the best episodes ever!

[@ImpartiallySpeaking]

The poor art dealer must have been absolutely gutted to lose out on a £2Million painting which he sold for £35000

[@roryoconnor5917]

Phillip looks shook at the end, I know he's kicking himself and would have loved it in his private collection.

[@cathiematthews1359]

@@roryoconnor5917 and Fiona is funny. Stressing the point that it is "2 million pounds- wow" lol. You know that there must be some fun banter between the two of them.

[@RobKoelman]

You say 'poor art dealer'. Well, he isn't going to be hungry because of this. In another periode, he made an expected profit of about 200.000 pound (painting by Van Dijck or circle). So, you lose some and you win some. It's part of the game...

[@richardheinz]

Too bad someone messed with it by painting over it. Good thing the experts restored it.

[@RobKoelman]

Restored it? There is no notion about that in this episode...

[@lanascottlighthouse4934]

She wears the nicest dresss!!!!

[@Blessings.429]

Ten mins in, I see what looks like a picture done at a different angle to the Hayway but a the same place. The trees give it away and I think you found it. I think it’s a Constable.

[@lancefraser9080]

Are there any new episodes available , meaning 2019 or 2020?

[@wilfriedholscher7029]

Ich liebe Kunst. Ich kann mich nicht satt sehen in the National Portrait Galerie.

[@jefflea9239]

I just discovered this series and am enjoying it thoroughly. Good for BBC1

[@discoverydavid]

I came across this while (unsuccessfully) trying to track down an episode of the Antiques Roadshow (I remember being amazed by it as a kid) from the late 70s/early 80s where someone found a whole load of sketches in their attic (loft) and they turned out to be preliminary sketches of 'The Hay Wain'....didn't find it, but found this. Provenance...providence, or something like that.

[@mightwenotbehappy]

discoverydavid new episode is up

[@sonnyjimm23]

This is my favourite painting from all of the episodes. What a stunning piece of work. I gasped when I saw it, it took my breath away.

[@pamelaingold5601]

I have an art history degree and I think this show is amazing.

[@Celtopia]

Fabulous rollercoaster of pure adrenaline......im so happy for the world to gain a.missing masterpiece.......

[@bretnielsen5502]

Just rewatching this incredible series makes me feel refreshed inside as if there's hope for our culture.

[@wecreatezone8940]

That elderflower is more than 200 years old... ?!

[@mettejensen5140]

Had me wonder too..

[@tamaragerasimova2405]

They are truly detective stories,astonishing!

[@CLOUDSINTHEKITCHEN]

The guy who sold it is kicking himself in the nuts !!!! I love this series

[@eccehomo1904]

His pain is real.

[@kristine8338]

The boy in the wagon is gesturing towards the dog. Maybe his furry friend can not go along and has to stay with the woman, his mother… just fantasising 😃.

[@marcoantonioviagedor7201]

Amazing! It's like solving a colossal mystery. I have my own "Dufy" signed painting still trying to solve the puzzle but no luck so far. 🥺

[@provocase]

Fascinating episode! But one minor detail in the painting bugs me a little bit and it isn't addressed by any of the art experts in this episode: the depiction of Willy Lot's farm in this painting seems to be missing the small lower wing or extension seen on almost every other of Constable's paintings or scetches of the building. It's even in the authenticated pencil scetch by Constable used to authenticate this painting. At first, in the beginning of this episode, I thought it might have been ommited simply because that part of the farm was not there yet when he made this painting - a later addition to the farm. But as it turned out as the episode progressed, he drew it on the pencil scetch. So why would Constable have left that part of the building out in this oil paint scetch? Would have been nice if this strange little detail in the painting would have been addressed and explained by the Fake or Fortune team. Thanks for the upload, really loved it!

[@hogwashmcturnip8930]

Myt gut instinct is it is a fake.I loathe Constable,but that thing is just so muddy and treacly, it dpesn't do it for me. But what do I know?Nowt!

[@carlotta4th]

What is there to say about it? It isn't there, and if it wasn't overpainted then he just never painted it to begin with.

[@krisstelzner3035]

I can’t imagine what a time this was when constable was born the same year America was founded, this painting was amazing and it’s history.

[@picassoboy52]

I wish she would wear longer pants 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@vibrantscolor]

Delighted for you Henry having a treasure piece in your hands.

[@cathypickard4615]

I've been binge watching this show for the last two days! I love it!

[@jamobee6178]

NO NO NO, the overpaint was not removed from the painting as it exists today. What exists today is an enhanced and overpainted version. Just look at the comparison at frame 37:14. The background trees on the left in the picture on the left has been covered up and you can tell by the lighter clump of clouds. That's just the way it is.

[@jpfloru8669]

It’s strange how Philip calls it an ‘authentic sketch’ … in my limited opinion an oil painting cannot be labeled a sketch - it would have to be far more ephemeral for that, probably on paper…

[@gabrielababa1125]

Phillip Mould makes me laugh A LOT at minute 56.17 to 56.38 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 JUST LOOK HOW HIS EYES ARE BLINKING WHEN THOSE WOMEN ARE TALKING ABOUT THEM FINALLY ACCEPTING AS GENUINE AFTER HE TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO PROVE IT IN HIS PAST AND THAN SUDDENLY THE “EXPERTS” said yes is genuine ahahhahahahahahha IN ART THERE is NO SUCH A THING AS ART EXPERTS BUT JUST PEOPLE WHICH FEEL ART AND THE ONLY EXPERT IS THE ARTIST ITSELF WHICH DIED/or Alive. A bunch of auctions they haven’t got a Clue about art.

[@jehanzebkhan7389]

I have Jon's original painting. In which the dog is the sheep and the child. There is an oil painting. Only bbc channel should contact.

[@Zippezip]

Mould the young man in the cart is yelling at the dog to get back on board or catch up with him, he is not pointing at the cottage. IMHO.

[@pennychorm1060]

Im wondering if John Constable ever painted a scene with a little boy laying on his tummy drinking out of a creek. There's a dog in it too, the same dog in his paintings.

[@FigaroHey]

Lying, not laying.

[@dazuk1969]

That's one the best i have seen in this series...2 Mil..nice, straight up sale....let someone else display it.

[@margkropf5541]

For once, we having something intriguing and genuine amidst all the garbage online. Kudos!!!!

[@mcclure440]

What happened to DR. Barndoor after series 05? ....he disappeared after that....

[@pxtokarev]

A signature is never worth the millions it commands. What about the art within it?

[@ibrahimegal7186]

I adore and love johns constable masterpiece golden artefacts

[@jehanzebkhan7389]

My have John original old panting. .. more information after

[@frenchartantiquesparis424]

Fantastic...!!!

[@jodeec01]

The view is from the window, above your head. :)

[@bobbyleewv]

Amazing what you can accomplish with just money and connections.

[@lucifer2133]

So, apparently I have an expertise and a keen eye for Constable originals, since I was absolutely sure and correct on both examples at 31:10. That's flattering since 31 minutes ago I didn't know who Constable was.

[@annettefindlay8076]

Amazing story. Loved this episode.🎨

[@robinbest4786]

Mouldy strikes again ! Well done - and sincere thanks for inviting us into the fabulous world of beauty and genius that is your own habitat.

[@augustoserranegra2725]

Fantastic!!!! 🙌🙌🙌🙌

[@SimonWrigley]

It is said that Constable may have studied meteorology as, early in his career, he was told that his clouds were not convincing, So he was a man who really trained, plus countless studies of trees. Thanks for a beautiful series, you really follow your intuition and heart.

[@bobinabuddy]

Well done Philip !! good eye

[@NGS712]

I'm so happy to have stumbled on this recently, and this possibly being my favourite episode yet! Without spoiling anything, I did really love this particular oil. Its brushwork has so much character and the colours are vivid as enamel ❤️

[@Earth098]

Thanks for uploading!!

[@afolsom685]

Brilliant!

[@smithersrob]

Imagine being able to wander a few hundred meters up the road to the National Gallery and sit before The Hay Wain whilst holding your own Constable painting of the same scene from another angle...

[@billyb37]

I miss this programe so much ,ive seen all the one on youtube ,are there any more???

[@mightwenotbehappy]

Billy B uploaded a new ep yesterday

[@richardhunter132]

I haven't watched to the end yet for the big reveal, but it looks like a Constable to me. one of the thing that convinces me is the patch of yellow on the side of the cottage. close up, it just looks like a blob of paint, but when you look from afar you realise it represents a shaft of sunlight catching the gable. that's the kind of subtlety you only get from a great artist. if it's fake, it's a very good one

[@simongardiner949]

His definitive painting of Willy Lot's cottage was painted in 1810. Same view point as this wonderful 'sketch' or work up for the main painting - probably painted en plein aire. This wonderful brushwork is NOT 'circle of' or 'after' its by constable himself, but will, of course not be signed or entered into the catalogue resonne.

[@brianjohnson8918]

Wow! Able to drive legally on the left AND right sides of the road with no apparent signs of distress! Astonishing!

[@davidroosa4561]

wouldn't Philip know the gap between the 1993 death of Battson , and when he encountered it in 1995?

[@hogwashmcturnip8930]

I loathe Constable,but to me that is a fake. It is just muddy and treacly, and the clouds and trees are wrong.The people look like blobs. It lacks his finesse. Whether you like Constable or not, he was a consumate artist. That grungy thing is an insult. But hey, what do I know? I did 'find the Constable' in split seconds way before they did.You just Know.His trees,his skies...It works with most paintings actually. If it looks like a duck walks like a duck, but clucks like a chicken...,

[@e.h.5849]

Absolutely agree. This smudgy thing to be called Constable should be taken as an insult to any Constable admirer. (But, hey, maybe his right arm was broken and he had to paint with his left and he only had thick large brushes available when he painted it...) Colors are spot on, though.

[@Trixtah]

It's a preparatory sketch, not a finished work, which they say many times that Constable would not have let leave his studio while he was alive. The family sold it after his death.

[@NinaHansen2008]

There is a big difference between a study and a finished painting. If you only look at Constables highly finished work, and compare that to this one, well, then it does look blobby. However if you look at it for what it IS - study, then it fits.

[@stuarthurley4262]

PAINTING IS ANOTHER WORD FOR FEELING

[@whitneylake2107]

Brilliant !

[@junebennett978]

Another Great Episode! Thank You!! Bless You!

[@martin5504]

I love the artistic nature of the human being and works of art of all kinds throughout history but money has a habit of inhibiting the artistic and this well made and entertaining video demonstrates this.

[@darilynkrupp6309]

The series, (and the episode) is intriguing, informative, entertaining and a joy to watch.

[@avlasting3507]

Extraordinary.

[@wecreatezone8940]

The middle building is totally missing from the view 13:16min.

[@natolu4840]

If the LA county Museum of Art won’t let you view it then that situation creates a loophole that can’t be verified. Why should you take their word for it’s exhibition!