Fake or Fortune? poster

Fake or Fortune?

2011–present

Journalist Fiona Bruce teams up with art expert Philip Mould to investigate the provenance or attribution of notable artworks.

First aired
19 Jun 2011
Episode length
58 min
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Music
William Goodchild
Editors
Ben King, Dilesh Korya, Natasha Martin and 4 others
Executive producers
Ben Gale, Judith Winnan
Producers
Ben Southwell, Christopher Boreham, Claire Lewis and 10 others
Elsewhere
TMDB

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  • Documentary
  • Reality

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Cast

Seasons · 59 episodes

  • Series 1

    Season 1 · 2011

    Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate four very different art mysteries: a disputed Monet, a Winslow Homer found near a rubbish dump, a celebrated Vermeer revealed as a Van Meegeren forgery, and a supposed Rembrandt connected to Nazi looting. The series establishes the programme’s mix of attribution, provenance, ownership disputes and art-world authority.

  • Series 2

    Season 2 · 2012

    The team examines a Degas with uncertain provenance, three Turner paintings dismissed as fakes for decades, and a heavily altered portrait linked to Van Dyck. Restoration and scientific analysis play a major role in recovering the original identities of the works.

  • Series 3

    Season 3 · 2014

    Investigations involving Vuillard, Constable, Chagall and Gainsborough take the team through private collections, archives and international authentication committees. The outcomes range from major rediscoveries to a convincing modern forgery.

  • Series 4

    Season 4 · 2015

    Works associated with Lowry, Renoir, Munnings and Churchill are tested through provenance research and forensic examination. Several cases show that compelling evidence can still fail to persuade the authorities who control an artist’s accepted catalogue.

  • Series 5

    Season 5 · 2016

    The team investigates paintings and sculpture linked to Delaroche, Lucian Freud and Rodin, alongside difficult portrait attributions. Questions of family ownership, incomplete records and deliberate deception complicate the search for firm answers.

  • Series 6

    Season 6 · 2017

    Three concentrated investigations focus on works attributed to Constable, Australian Impressionist Tom Roberts and Gauguin. Each case explores how provenance, technique and changing expert opinion can transform the status and value of an overlooked artwork.

  • Series 7

    Season 7 · 2018

    The programme expands beyond conventional painting cases, examining works connected with Ben Nicholson, Toulouse-Lautrec, Henry Moore and Giacometti, as well as historically important portraits of Black British subjects. The series combines attribution with broader questions of identity and neglected art history.

  • Series 8

    Season 8 · 2019

    Paintings linked to Sir Thomas Lawrence, Giorgio de Chirico and Venetian view painters are investigated through family histories, labels and documentary evidence. The cases repeatedly show how plausible provenance can conceal misattribution or later invention.

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