0:00:02 > 0:00:04- At 42 million...- The art world,
0:00:04 > 0:00:06where paintings change hands for fortunes.
0:00:06 > 0:00:07Sold. Thank you very much.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09But for every known masterpiece,
0:00:09 > 0:00:12there may be another still waiting to be discovered.
0:00:12 > 0:00:17- This is it.- International art dealer Philip Mould and I have teamed up to
0:00:17 > 0:00:20hunt for lost works by great artists.
0:00:20 > 0:00:25We use old-fashioned detective work and state-of-the-art science to get
0:00:25 > 0:00:30- to the truth.- Science can enable us to see beyond the human eye.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32- Ta-da!- Oh, wow!
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Every case is packed with surprise and intrigue.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Is it or isn't it a Freud, then?
0:00:38 > 0:00:41But not every painting is quite what it seems.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44It's a journey that can end in joy...
0:00:44 > 0:00:49- This is definitely by Paul Delaroche.- Oh, my goodness.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51..or bitter disappointment.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54I can't cope with this roller-coaster.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56What a nightmare.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59In this episode, we're taking on one of the most important cases we've
0:00:59 > 0:01:04ever faced. Can we prove that this beautiful English landscape is a
0:01:04 > 0:01:07work of national importance?
0:01:07 > 0:01:10- That's it!- Yeah. - There on the wall!
0:01:10 > 0:01:14A lost masterpiece by John Constable and quite possibly an alternative
0:01:14 > 0:01:16view of his greatest work,
0:01:16 > 0:01:17The Hay Wain.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21I feel I've just walked into the most famous landscape painting of
0:01:21 > 0:01:25- all time.- It's a journey that takes us from Constable country
0:01:25 > 0:01:26to Los Angeles
0:01:26 > 0:01:28on the trail of a painting with a colourful past.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33I now know who owned your picture.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34- Wow.- You've got a name?
0:01:34 > 0:01:37But with Constable the most forged artist of the 19th century,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40are the odds stacked against us?
0:01:40 > 0:01:43So two artists at work rather than one?
0:01:43 > 0:01:45That sounds like a problem.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Every art dealer has a tale of a special picture that slipped through
0:02:01 > 0:02:05their fingers, an artwork so important it should be hanging on
0:02:05 > 0:02:08the walls of a world-class gallery.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12So when I was a fledgling dealer in the mid-1990s,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16I bought a picture which I thought might well be a sleeper,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20an overlooked work by one of the greatest landscape painters who ever
0:02:20 > 0:02:22lived - John Constable.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Well, that certainly is one of the most famous names in British art
0:02:24 > 0:02:27history, that's for sure. But was it a bit of a long shot?
0:02:27 > 0:02:29Well, I'm afraid the experts thought so.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Despite my best efforts, I failed to prove it,
0:02:32 > 0:02:38so I was obliged to just sell it on and I've always regretted it.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Ever since then, the painting has been tucked away in the English
0:02:42 > 0:02:46countryside. The present owner has been waiting for the right moment to
0:02:46 > 0:02:49try to bring a lost Constable back into the light.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51The whole art world has moved on.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55We now know so much more about his techniques, his foibles,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58the way he put his paintings together, and we've got digital
0:02:58 > 0:03:01access in a way we never had before,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05to ledgers and sales catalogues and provenance.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09I see this as a cold case that we need to reopen.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15We've come to take another look at the painting at the home of the
0:03:15 > 0:03:18current owner, businessman Henry Reed.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22- Hello, Henry.- Hello, Philip. How are you?- Nice to see you.
0:03:22 > 0:03:23It's very good to see you.
0:03:23 > 0:03:24Hi, Henry. Nice to meet you.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26How do you do? Very nice to meet you.
0:03:26 > 0:03:27- Come along in.- Thank you.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Here's the picture and I hope you like it.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42That is really lovely.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Well, I can see why it appeals to you, Henry.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53And I can see why it caught your eye, because
0:03:53 > 0:03:56that is one of the most famous scenes in British art.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Absolutely. This is Willy Lott's Cottage on the banks
0:03:59 > 0:04:01of the River Stour in Suffolk.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06This is the very same subject that Constable depicted in his most
0:04:06 > 0:04:08famous painting - The Hay Wain.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13The Hay Wain is Constable's most celebrated work.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16It hangs in pride of place at the National Gallery in London
0:04:16 > 0:04:19and is one of Britain's best-loved pictures.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Born in 1776,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25John Constable was one of the leading lights of British landscape
0:04:25 > 0:04:30painting. Famed for his idyllic pictures of the English countryside,
0:04:30 > 0:04:35he was an innovator who captured the natural world with fresh vitality.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Painted in 1821,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41The Hay Wain was the picture that made Constable's name
0:04:41 > 0:04:44and I sold Henry the dream that this
0:04:44 > 0:04:47unattributed work might be an alternative view of his
0:04:47 > 0:04:48most famous landscape.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52When did you buy the picture, Henry?
0:04:52 > 0:04:54I bought the picture in 2000.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58I bought it off Philip but I'd bought art off Philip before.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00I really liked the painting. I thought it was fantastic.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02It was a beautiful scene.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05It was beautifully painted and I loved it.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10- As simple as that.- How much did you pay for it from Philip?
0:05:10 > 0:05:13I paid 35,000, which is a lot of money.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15For a painting you don't know if it's genuine or not?
0:05:15 > 0:05:20Correct. Having said that, I had Philip's conviction behind me.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22So no pressure on you, then?
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Well, I had a conviction, a dream that it was...
0:05:25 > 0:05:28that it was possibly right, and I got you to buy into that, didn't I,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30- really?- Yeah, very much so.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34My history with the picture goes back to 1995,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36when I was an up-and-coming art dealer,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38trawling the sales for possible sleepers.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42It was described as circle of John Constable in a very, very,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45vague estimate of £2,000-£3,000.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47I ended up buying it for £10,000
0:05:47 > 0:05:49and tried to prove that it was right.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51And I showed it to one of the leading experts.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53He said no, and being a dealer,
0:05:53 > 0:05:55I couldn't hang on to this for a very long time,
0:05:55 > 0:05:59because art dealers can't afford just to
0:05:59 > 0:06:02put money into a picture and then just hope and wait.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07Five years later, I had another chance to buy the painting again
0:06:07 > 0:06:10at double the cost. £20,000.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12I then tried to prove it again.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16And failed. And that's when Henry came into the picture.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18So let me just get this straight, then.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22You sold it to Henry here for £35,000,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25which is quite a healthy profit margin.
0:06:25 > 0:06:26Now you're trying to embarrass me.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Perish the thought!
0:06:28 > 0:06:31And yet you thought there was enough in it, Henry?
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Even though Philip had tried and failed twice at this point.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Certainly for me, it was a bet worth taking.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38You could have bought a dud here.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41I could have bought a dud, but if it wasn't a dud,
0:06:41 > 0:06:42then there's a significant upside.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Well, what would that upside be, then, Philip,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49if this is indeed John Constable, what would this be worth?
0:06:50 > 0:06:53As an authentic sketch by Constable,
0:06:53 > 0:06:57I could see it making in excess of £2 million.
0:07:00 > 0:07:01Did you know that, Henry?
0:07:01 > 0:07:03No. Not at all.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08That's an extraordinary sum.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10It's a very, very, very large sum.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12If it proves to be genuine.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17It's been almost 20 years since I let this picture go.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Did I make the right or wrong decision?
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Seeing this picture again,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28I get the same jolt of excitement which I did when I first saw it.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30This looks like a Constable.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34This has all the classic ingredients which he's famous for
0:07:34 > 0:07:36with The Hay Wain and other pictures.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38I mean, you've got Willy Lott's Cottage.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42You've got the cart crossing the river and you've got that expressive
0:07:42 > 0:07:44English-weather sky.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46The scudding clouds.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51My feeling is that this is Constable producing a picture heading towards
0:07:51 > 0:07:54The Hay Wain. Why not?
0:07:54 > 0:07:56If this painting does turn out to be Constable,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59it is potentially such an important work.
0:07:59 > 0:08:00What do you think you might do with it?
0:08:00 > 0:08:02I think the public has to see it
0:08:02 > 0:08:05if it is deemed, indeed, important enough to be exhibited.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Obviously we have to wait until we see whether it's real.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13To be honest, I thought long and hard before taking this on,
0:08:13 > 0:08:15because I could be wrong.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19And there were some very senior experts who disagreed with me.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25The Constable experts who viewed the painting in the late 1990s found
0:08:25 > 0:08:28elements of the picture unconvincing and even crude.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32It had never appeared in any official inventory of Constable's
0:08:32 > 0:08:34work and had little in the way of provenance.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39But with many new avenues of research open to us,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43I think the time is right to uncover the truth about this painting
0:08:43 > 0:08:44once and for all.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53I think Henry's picture deserves one last chance,
0:08:53 > 0:08:59a final big push to try and prove that it could be a lost piece of British art history.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02It's my theory that it's an alternative view of the scene
0:09:02 > 0:09:04depicted in The Hay Wain,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08so I'm heading to the place that inspired it in search of evidence -
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Constable country in Suffolk.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Constable grew up in the Stour Valley, where his father was a
0:09:15 > 0:09:17prosperous corn merchant.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20The family's watermill at Flatford still survives,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22faithfully preserved by the National Trust.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28Constable's journey from aspiring artist to celebrated landscape
0:09:28 > 0:09:30painter was long and arduous.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33It took many years for him to be recognised.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39When success finally came, well into his 40s,
0:09:39 > 0:09:44Constable said he owed it to his careless boyhood and all that lies
0:09:44 > 0:09:46on the banks of the Stour.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48This was his training ground.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51"These scenes made me a painter," he said.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57None more so than this idyllic view.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07I feel I've just walked into the most famous landscape painting
0:10:07 > 0:10:08of all time.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13I mean, the question is -
0:10:13 > 0:10:16why and how is it so powerful?
0:10:16 > 0:10:19You know, what did Constable do in order to make this so enduring,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21the most popular landscape,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24the most popular painting, for many people, ever done?
0:10:26 > 0:10:29I mean, the sky, the sky is so astonishing.
0:10:29 > 0:10:30It's half the picture.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32I mean, look at the scale of it.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34He really knew what clouds were.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39And then your eye goes down to the middle of the river,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41to the hay cart, to the hay wain.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44And in it, two people are discussing something.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47But one arm is then pointed outwards towards...
0:10:47 > 0:10:50towards Willy Lott's Cottage,
0:10:50 > 0:10:54this wonderful sort of dwelling in the middle of the countryside,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56enfolded by nature and by these trees.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00The wonderful bush of elderflower,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03that's in flower now and was in flower when he painted it in this picture.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08I mean, that is the authority of an eyewitness account.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10This is someone who's been here, who's grown up here.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Constable said that painting is another word for feeling.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19And there's a sense of authenticity.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23It's a portrait of Constable himself, of his childhood,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26of all these things around here that he'd encountered, that he'd studied,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29that he'd collected with his eye.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33And it's amalgamated in this epic composition.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37And to think Henry's picture could be part of the genesis
0:11:37 > 0:11:39of this great work.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Constable sketched the home of tenant farmer Willy Lott from many
0:11:42 > 0:11:47different angles before he settled on the scene depicted in The Hay Wain.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50I'm meeting Simon Peachey from the National Trust,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54who is going to show me the various views so I can establish whether
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Henry's picture might be one of them.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00How about over here, because I can see that there is a
0:12:00 > 0:12:02very clear view of the river,
0:12:02 > 0:12:04so what about the view from this angle?
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Well, I'm not convinced.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09The view in front of us is, I think,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12the one that inspired The Mill Stream.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15You can see the view matches very well Constable's painting.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18You've got the house on the left and you've got the wall on the right and
0:12:18 > 0:12:20you've got the lovely view through the trees in the centre there.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Well, we're in the wrong place, so whereabouts now?
0:12:22 > 0:12:25- Round the corner?- I think if we go round the corner...
0:12:27 > 0:12:28Round here.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Oh, so this is distinctly Willy Lott's Cottage from the side.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36You've got the chimney breast,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39except it feels as though we've gone round a little bit too far.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42It's slightly skewed from here, isn't it?
0:12:42 > 0:12:45I agree with you and actually the view that it reminds me of is this
0:12:45 > 0:12:48one, which is The Valley Farm, 1816.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Another masterpiece of Willy Lott's Cottage.
0:12:50 > 0:12:51Absolutely.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56But can we find the view that is depicted in Henry's painting?
0:12:58 > 0:13:02So presumably, it could be somewhere along this wall here.
0:13:02 > 0:13:03Yeah.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08Actually, this angle of the architecture is much more convincing, isn't it?
0:13:08 > 0:13:11I think it is, cos if you look at the gable end of the house,
0:13:11 > 0:13:13it's just in the right position, isn't it?
0:13:13 > 0:13:17And actually, you've got the wall as well at the right angle.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20I think this is it.
0:13:20 > 0:13:21And to top off the scene,
0:13:21 > 0:13:26Simon can add one of Constable's trademark touches, a flash of red.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28I think that completes the picture.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37So we've found that the view depicted in Henry's picture does
0:13:37 > 0:13:39indeed match up with one at Flatford Mill.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46But what about the provenance of Henry's picture - its previous owners?
0:13:48 > 0:13:51I'm looking for clues on the back of the canvas and there's an intriguing
0:13:51 > 0:13:55label. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59So this would suggest that this painting was exhibited or loaned
0:13:59 > 0:14:02to this museum in LA as a Constable,
0:14:02 > 0:14:04and we've got a potential owner here.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Mr and Mrs Leigh Battson.
0:14:08 > 0:14:09Who are you?
0:14:13 > 0:14:16With our most promising provenance leads pointing to America,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20I've come to Los Angeles on the hunt for information about the last known
0:14:20 > 0:14:21owners of Henry's picture.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26I'm heading to the Getty Research Institute,
0:14:26 > 0:14:28which is the place to come if
0:14:28 > 0:14:31you need to track down the origins of a mysterious work of art.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34It's a fortress of knowledge,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38it contains extensive archives dating back to the Middle Ages.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41The whole place is protected against earthquake and fire so that the
0:14:41 > 0:14:44material held here is preserved for future generations.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48I've asked for the help of Julia Armstrong-Totten,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52one of the world's leading experts in provenance research.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55She helped create the Getty's Collectors Files,
0:14:55 > 0:14:5820,000 folders of information about the world's art dealers,
0:14:58 > 0:15:03museums and collectors, and there's one on Lucy and Leigh Battson.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07- Right, Julia, let's have a look in this file. I'm dying to see.- OK.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12So this is Lucy Smith Doheny Battson.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16Lucy was a matriarch of a very famous family here in Southern California,
0:15:16 > 0:15:18the Doheny family.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22They made their fortune in oil and her late father-in-law was one
0:15:22 > 0:15:25of the wealthiest men, if not the wealthiest man, in America...
0:15:25 > 0:15:27- Wow!- ..in their day.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29And presumably very well known, were they?
0:15:29 > 0:15:33They were. In fact, if you drive around, you'll see Doheny Drive,
0:15:33 > 0:15:38you'll see Doheny Beach, and so Lucy and her husband Ned
0:15:38 > 0:15:40built this mansion in Beverly Hills
0:15:40 > 0:15:42called Greystone Mansion.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45- Wow! Look at that.- Yeah, it's pretty spectacular, isn't it?
0:15:45 > 0:15:50It was considered probably the most beautiful and one of the largest
0:15:50 > 0:15:53estates built in California at the time.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57So this was a stupendously wealthy family by any standards?
0:15:57 > 0:15:59Incredibly wealthy. Incredibly wealthy.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01But they weren't without scandal.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03As you can see here.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05"Doheny Jr Murdered!"
0:16:05 > 0:16:09"Crazed Secretary Kills Millionaire And Himself."
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Lucy's husband and the secretary both ended up dead.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14We don't really know the details today.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17There is, you know, a lot of questions about what actually happened.
0:16:17 > 0:16:18Within a couple of years, though,
0:16:18 > 0:16:23Lucy remarried, and she married a gentleman called Leigh Battson
0:16:23 > 0:16:27who was also involved in oil, and together,
0:16:27 > 0:16:33they formed a wonderful collection of paintings and you can see some
0:16:33 > 0:16:39- examples here.- So we've got Canaletto, Pissarro, Monet,
0:16:39 > 0:16:44so this is a serious art collection of the great names.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Some of the greats, exactly.
0:16:46 > 0:16:52After Lucy died aged 100, in 1993, there was a sale,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56there was an auction and this is part of what was auctioned off.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Right. And is Henry's picture in this sale?
0:16:58 > 0:17:00No, it wasn't.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02Hang on. Just get out of my bag...
0:17:02 > 0:17:04I've got this label here.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06with Mr and Mrs Leigh Battson.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09- Right.- So this would suggest that they did own it.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11It does, and in fact,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15I think this is probably some kind of a loan exhibition label.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19So the question is - did the LA County Museum display
0:17:19 > 0:17:24Henry's picture as a Constable, loud and proud, perhaps in an exhibition,
0:17:24 > 0:17:27or did they have doubts about it themselves?
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Back in London, I've asked Henry to dig out any new evidence he's got
0:17:34 > 0:17:37that might help earn the painting another hearing.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39In 2002,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43a pencil sketch depicting the same scene as Henry's picture came up for
0:17:43 > 0:17:47auction, so he snapped it up for £9,500.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49It's so good to see this.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53It's a 100% accepted authentic work by John Constable
0:17:53 > 0:17:55and it seems to show
0:17:55 > 0:17:58a large proportion of the content of your painting, doesn't it?
0:17:58 > 0:17:59It seems to, yes.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02I mean, we have the horse and cart,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04we've got the mill stream
0:18:04 > 0:18:06with the reflections in it.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12We have a tree here in the same position.
0:18:12 > 0:18:13There are many, many parallels.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15It unquestionably relates.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17The only frustrating thing about this drawing is
0:18:17 > 0:18:19it doesn't show your complete composition,
0:18:19 > 0:18:21the right-hand side is missing,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25as it were. And what I'd love to do is take this to one of the Constable
0:18:25 > 0:18:29experts and really get to grips with it, try and understand it further.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35I'm heading to the Victoria & Albert Museum,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39which holds an unrivalled collection of Constable's works,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41from finished paintings to preliminary sketches
0:18:41 > 0:18:45left in his studio after his death.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49My theory is that Henry's picture could be one of these sketches,
0:18:49 > 0:18:53a loosely painted working draft of Willy Lott's Cottage.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56I've arranged to meet Annie Lyles,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59one of the world's top Constable scholars.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03She's one of the experts that we'll have to convince to have any chance
0:19:03 > 0:19:07of proving that Henry's picture is genuine, and she is well acquainted
0:19:07 > 0:19:09with all the known versions of Willy Lott's Cottage.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16You know, I just love this picture.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20It's so wild and passionate and fluent.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24And to think, this is a six-foot full-size sketch
0:19:24 > 0:19:25for the famous Hay Wain.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29And dare I say it, I almost prefer it.
0:19:29 > 0:19:34If I'm really honest, I think I prefer it, because, well, you see
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Constable's creative processes at work,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40but it is part of the process and it wasn't designed to be seen in his
0:19:40 > 0:19:42- own day.- I feel it almost...
0:19:42 > 0:19:44It's like Constable having let his guard down.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47You get to know him as an artist.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50One of the things that excited me about Henry's picture,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53which I could see here, is that sort of almost slightly, though,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55out-of-control quality.
0:19:55 > 0:20:01Yes, I mean, it seems so fresh and natural that people tend to assume
0:20:01 > 0:20:04that it was painted in the open air.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07But it wasn't. It was made in the studio,
0:20:07 > 0:20:13probably over a period of months, between 1820 and 1821, and for it,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17Constable relied on material that he had painted ten years earlier.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24The seeds of The Hay Wain can clearly be seen in a series of small
0:20:24 > 0:20:27sketches Constable painted while he was in Suffolk.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30He didn't paint these and think,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32"This will become The Hay Wain one day."
0:20:32 > 0:20:37He was simply note taking, he was making sketches in the open air,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40because, of course, by the early '20s,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43when he was painting The Hay Wain proper,
0:20:43 > 0:20:45he was in London in his studio,
0:20:45 > 0:20:47marriage, children and so on,
0:20:47 > 0:20:52so he no longer had the scenes in front of him.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55So these were like his storehouse of images,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59his memories, as it were, of his time in Suffolk, which then,
0:20:59 > 0:21:02in London, he could conjure into pictures.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07I can't help noticing the trotting sheepdog that starts in 1810 and
0:21:07 > 0:21:10then bounces into the preparatory sketch,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13and then makes it into the final famous Hay Wain.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18I think Henry's picture could well have had its roots in
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Constable's storehouse of images.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Several distinctive elements can also be found in genuine sketches
0:21:24 > 0:21:30and drawings. The two-wheeled cart appears in several early sketches.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32One of them fits the picture exactly.
0:21:34 > 0:21:35The leaning figure in red,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38it's a motif which can be found in other early works.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41And most compelling,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Henry's authentic pencil drawing depicting the left-hand side
0:21:44 > 0:21:46of his oil painting.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49But will Annie Lyles buy into my theory?
0:21:50 > 0:21:55There is clearly a direct relationship between this drawing
0:21:55 > 0:21:57and your painting. But,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00from my position of having seen so many works of this type
0:22:00 > 0:22:02that are clever fakes,
0:22:02 > 0:22:07I feel I have to point out that what these clever fakers often did
0:22:07 > 0:22:11was to take classic Constable ingredients that they knew from
0:22:11 > 0:22:15sketches and pictures, just like we've been discussing,
0:22:15 > 0:22:18and to blend them in very cleverly into a composition that looks like
0:22:18 > 0:22:22Constable. So it might be a fake-ist who is doing this and got access
0:22:22 > 0:22:26to this drawing. You need to build more of a case, in my view -
0:22:26 > 0:22:30proper, technical analysis, pigments, how it was constructed,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33that aspect of the picture - and secondly,
0:22:33 > 0:22:36you need to do more research into the picture's provenance.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42It's clear Annie will take some convincing.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46Back in LA, I'm on the trail of that label which suggests Henry's picture
0:22:46 > 0:22:48was once loaned to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54I'm keen to know if it was ever exhibited at this prestigious museum
0:22:54 > 0:22:55as a genuine Constable.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02The Los Angeles County Museum of Art does have a file on Henry's painting.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05They won't allow us to film it but they have told Julia that Henry's
0:23:05 > 0:23:09painting was exhibited here as a Constable, not once, but twice,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12in 1967 and 1969.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17So they believed in it, but then somewhere between that time
0:23:17 > 0:23:20and 1995 when Philip bought it,
0:23:20 > 0:23:23it fell off a cliff and stopped being a Constable.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27So what we need to find out now is - when did it happen and why?
0:23:31 > 0:23:34I'm hoping I can find out why Henry's picture appears to have been
0:23:34 > 0:23:38unceremoniously discredited as a work by Constable.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Was there something about the painting itself that aroused suspicion?
0:23:43 > 0:23:46I've sent it to the Hamilton Kerr Institute,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48a specialist art research facility in Cambridge.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Sarah Cove, one of the world's leading authorities in Constable's
0:23:53 > 0:23:54painting techniques,
0:23:54 > 0:23:57has agreed to examine the painting in forensic detail.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02As the founder of The Constable Research Project,
0:24:02 > 0:24:03with 30 years' expertise,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07she's examined hundreds of genuine works by the artist.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09As well as countless fakes.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12What will she make of Henry's picture?
0:24:12 > 0:24:16Now, your response to this is very significant.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19I think it's very interesting.
0:24:19 > 0:24:26The thing that stands out to me immediately is the colour of the ground.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29OK, so that's the layer beneath the paint, in the background,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32shining through like a sort of negligee through a dress.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37Yes, an artist would buy a canvas from an artists' colourman
0:24:37 > 0:24:39with a white ground
0:24:39 > 0:24:43and then they would potentially add another paint layer in a colour of
0:24:43 > 0:24:48their choice. This is what I would call mushroom pink.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53You can see it particularly clearly in these thin areas of the sky.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57And dare I ask, is it the sort of thing you associate with our friend
0:24:57 > 0:25:02- John Constable?- Certainly this sort of mushroom pink shade is something
0:25:02 > 0:25:06that he used, but I need to have a more detailed look.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09OK, so this is encouraging, but give it to me straight,
0:25:09 > 0:25:11I'm a grown-up art dealer.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Is there anything in here that worries you?
0:25:13 > 0:25:18There is some brushwork in these trees in particular
0:25:18 > 0:25:21that I'm not 100% convinced by.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24It stands up from the surface and it
0:25:24 > 0:25:27almost looks as if it's been stencilled on.
0:25:28 > 0:25:33And you wouldn't normally expect to see anything like that in a work by
0:25:33 > 0:25:34John Constable.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36It doesn't seem right to me.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40- That's a bit worrying. - Yes, I'm a bit concerned about that.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47Back in LA I've come to the former home of the Battsons,
0:25:47 > 0:25:49the previous owners of Henry's painting.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59This is Greystone Mansion, perched high in Beverly Hills.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07When it was built in 1928,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10it was the grandest estate ever to have been constructed in the
0:26:10 > 0:26:12City of Los Angeles.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22I'm hoping to find out more about Henry's painting.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Where did the Battsons acquire it?
0:26:24 > 0:26:28And why did it fall from grace, stripped of the name Constable?
0:26:31 > 0:26:35I'm meeting Lucy Battson's family, who've agreed to share what they know.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Peter and Will, it's lovely to meet you here at Greystone in the home of
0:26:40 > 0:26:44your grandmother, your grandmother by marriage, Lucy Battson.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Tell me a bit about her, what was she like?
0:26:46 > 0:26:50Well, she smoked until she was 100, and drank.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55- She was a very strong woman. - Very strong.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58But scary, but very interesting.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00We all used to call her sweetheart,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03and you might wonder why that was.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Most of us felt it was a huge misnomer.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08Because she was quite the opposite!
0:27:08 > 0:27:10What can you tell me about the painting?
0:27:10 > 0:27:14Well, I can tell you that we found a photograph of it,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16hanging in their next house.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20- That's it!- Yeah. - There on the wall!
0:27:21 > 0:27:25It's wonderful to see Henry's picture once hanging proudly as a
0:27:25 > 0:27:27genuine Constable, but where did it come from?
0:27:28 > 0:27:30So how did she buy her art?
0:27:30 > 0:27:35The majority of it was purchased in the, I guess, in the late '50s.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38And in going through Mr Battson's diaries,
0:27:38 > 0:27:42that's how we found the entry which tells us about the purchase of the
0:27:42 > 0:27:44- painting.- Oh, wow.- Yeah.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47And this is 1957.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49European trip.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53"Went to see Mr Dudley Tooth at Arthur Tooth & Sons."
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Now, Arthur Tooth, very well-known dealer at the time in London,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58very respected dealer.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01"Bought a Constable and a Monet."
0:28:01 > 0:28:03And so that, as far as you are aware,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06is the Constable that was hanging in that photograph.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08- Correct.- How interesting.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10- Well, that's just brilliant.- Yeah.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13With this reference to Arthur Tooth, which obviously we'll check out,
0:28:13 > 0:28:17this takes us back ten years further into the past in terms of our
0:28:17 > 0:28:19- knowledge about the painting. - Interesting.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24We had taken it back as far as 1967, now we're back at 1957.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28This is an intriguing new provenance lead, which I need to investigate.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32But there's another mystery I'm also hoping to solve.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36How did the picture come to be rejected by the art world?
0:28:37 > 0:28:39Do you know what happened to the painting?
0:28:39 > 0:28:44Well, after her death, all of the art work was taken to auction and...
0:28:46 > 0:28:48..most of the paintings, impressionist paintings certainly,
0:28:48 > 0:28:50were going to be sold in New York,
0:28:50 > 0:28:54but it was recommended that this particular picture
0:28:54 > 0:28:56be sold in London.
0:28:56 > 0:29:02And upon the experts in London looking at the painting,
0:29:02 > 0:29:06there was a strong feeling that it was not by Constable's hand.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10And they were going to re-attribute the picture
0:29:10 > 0:29:13to a circle of Constable.
0:29:13 > 0:29:14So this is the moment, then,
0:29:14 > 0:29:18when the painting ceased officially to be a Constable.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22- Correct.- What was the reaction in the family? What was your reaction?
0:29:22 > 0:29:25- Well... - HE CHUCKLES
0:29:25 > 0:29:27..the reaction was, "OK, so send it back."
0:29:27 > 0:29:32But somehow that got lost in the Pony Express
0:29:32 > 0:29:34and they sold the painting.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36- It got sold?- Yeah.- Yes.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40- So you never saw it again? - Never saw it again.- Wow.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43How will you feel if we do manage to prove it's a John Constable?
0:29:43 > 0:29:47- I think we'd probably be very happy for the current owner.- We would.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50And also prove that our grandmother was right.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52- Sweetheart knew what she was doing. - Yeah, exactly.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59I'm following this exciting new paper trail back to London.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02After checking the archives, I've some news for Henry.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06Now, Henry, take a look at this to begin with.
0:30:08 > 0:30:09Oh, wow, there it is.
0:30:11 > 0:30:12There is your picture.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15Unquestionably, isn't it? Isn't that marvellous?
0:30:15 > 0:30:19But, moreover, Leigh Battson was a prolific diary writer.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23And look at this name, Arthur Tooth & Sons, and he writes,
0:30:23 > 0:30:26"Bought a Constable..."
0:30:26 > 0:30:28Is the Constable your Constable?
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Yes, it is, because we checked.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32Arthur Tooth's archives.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36Here we are, Willy Lott's Cottage, sold to Leigh Battson, 1957.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41The Arthur Tooth records show that in 1957,
0:30:41 > 0:30:46Henry's painting was sold as a 100% authentic work by John Constable.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48Some 30 years later, though,
0:30:48 > 0:30:53the world's leading Constable experts had instead concluded it was a fake.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57Most likely the work of one of the artist's many imitators.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01The problem is, Henry, we've entered shark-infested waters now in the art world.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05Constable is one of the most faked artists of the 19th century.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07Have a look at these two pictures.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09Which one do you think is by Constable?
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Ooh. How long do I have?
0:31:12 > 0:31:14Well, I like a challenge.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16What do you think, Henry? I'm going to let you decide.
0:31:16 > 0:31:18I would have said that one.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22You are correct, but look how close that other one, which is a pastiche,
0:31:22 > 0:31:25in other words, based on this famous painting The Cornfield,
0:31:25 > 0:31:27but with a few motifs from other pictures,
0:31:27 > 0:31:29like the rainbow and the church.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31You can see how difficult it is.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34- Yeah.- OK, but have a look at these three.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36- Oh, my goodness. - THEY CHUCKLE
0:31:36 > 0:31:40Now, one of them is right, two are not.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44In my opinion, it's between these two.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47And on balance, I would go for the one on the far right.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49Congratulations, Henry, I salute you, you are right,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51that is the genuine Constable.
0:31:51 > 0:31:52Oh, well done, Henry.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55- A bit of luck. - Because that one is a shocker.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57I thought that was a bad photograph.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59So the one in the middle is a pastiche,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02another one of those works based on a famous painting by Constable.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04And the one at the end is in fact
0:32:04 > 0:32:07nothing more than a duplicitous fake,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10it was published in 1905 as a real Constable.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13The point is, though, Henry, we've entered a nightmare for us in
0:32:13 > 0:32:15the art world, and with any luck,
0:32:15 > 0:32:19forensics will pick up whether another hand has been at work with your picture.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21Back at the Hamilton Kerr Institute,
0:32:21 > 0:32:26I'm hoping thorough technical analysis might provide clearer evidence of
0:32:26 > 0:32:30whether Henry's picture is the work of Constable or a forger.
0:32:30 > 0:32:35Chris Titmus, a fine-art imaging specialist, is using ultraviolet,
0:32:35 > 0:32:39infrared and X-ray photography to look through the paint layers.
0:32:39 > 0:32:40- Hi, Philip.- Hi, Sarah.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Sarah Cove is going to interpret the images.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47What you can see here, which you can't see on the painting,
0:32:47 > 0:32:53is that the horses and cart have all been moved to the right over here.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56But underneath there are these very sweet,
0:32:56 > 0:32:58tiny little brushstrokes here
0:32:58 > 0:33:01which would have been done with a soft-haired brush,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04which I suspect are the legs of a horse,
0:33:04 > 0:33:06which is no longer visible,
0:33:06 > 0:33:10so we've got layers and layers as the artist is working through his
0:33:10 > 0:33:12thoughts and keeping on changing it.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14But that's fascinating,
0:33:14 > 0:33:16that's just the sort of thing I find so encouraging when you're trying to
0:33:16 > 0:33:18prove that a painting is by somebody,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21because it's an indication of a proper artist at work.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23Is a faker going to do that?
0:33:23 > 0:33:25So far, so good.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29But what about those rogue brushstrokes that Sarah was unconvinced by?
0:33:29 > 0:33:33We can see them very clearly here in the infrared.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38They are just like dabs of the end of a brush with these funny dots in
0:33:38 > 0:33:41a line and exactly the same here.
0:33:41 > 0:33:46We might find out a bit more if we look at the ultraviolet light image.
0:33:46 > 0:33:52And in actual fact, those dodgy brushstrokes stand right out.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55They couldn't be clearer, they look like sinister fingerprints.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58I think that there's a possibility
0:33:58 > 0:34:02that they might have been added by a later hand.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06So two artists at work rather than one?
0:34:06 > 0:34:07That sounds like a problem.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10It might be a problem or it might not.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14We know that after Constable's death,
0:34:14 > 0:34:19lots of his paintings were worked on because his children were small and
0:34:19 > 0:34:23they wanted to try and sell them to raise money for the family.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28So artist friends painted up some of the pictures, maybe added things,
0:34:28 > 0:34:31smartened them up, made them look a bit more finished,
0:34:31 > 0:34:34just to make the paintings more saleable.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38Well, that's both a chilling and intriguing thought.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42This kind of tampering was just the beginning.
0:34:42 > 0:34:48As Constable's reputation grew in the decades after his death in 1837,
0:34:48 > 0:34:53unscrupulous dealers began touching up unfinished works and forgers began
0:34:53 > 0:34:55to pollute the market.
0:34:55 > 0:35:01I'm genuinely really surprised to hear that there may be two hands at
0:35:01 > 0:35:03work in this picture. I mean, I've spent a lot of time with it,
0:35:03 > 0:35:09I never speculated that that might be a possibility, which is, to be fair,
0:35:09 > 0:35:11both good news and bad news.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15I mean, it's good because we know that happened to some Constables.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18After his death, it was par for the course, the sketches got built up,
0:35:18 > 0:35:20turned into more commercial pictures.
0:35:21 > 0:35:26It's bad news because if this is by Constable and we can't get to it,
0:35:26 > 0:35:30we can't see what's beneath, then it will never get through.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36With Sarah's analysis raising tricky questions,
0:35:36 > 0:35:39I'm taking up the provenance trail.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42I've been trying to find out who owned the picture before it passed
0:35:42 > 0:35:45through the Arthur Tooth gallery in 1957.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48And I'm following up a possible lead.
0:35:48 > 0:35:53Colnaghi is one of the oldest and most respected commercial art galleries in London.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Since it was founded in the 18th century,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58many a masterpiece has passed through its doors
0:35:58 > 0:36:00and they hold extensive records
0:36:00 > 0:36:03of the paintings they've bought and sold.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07I've asked the team here to check if Henry's picture was one of them.
0:36:08 > 0:36:13Now this appears to be a catalogue, Paintings By Old Masters.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15April 1954.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19Right. So, these are real heavyweight old masters.
0:36:19 > 0:36:24I mean, Colnaghi was famous for selling these trophy pictures.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29Here we go, look at it.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33- There it is. - There it is, absolutely.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38- And there's a catalogue entry beneath.- Ah, John Constable.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40Number 15.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42"According to Mr RB Beckett...
0:36:42 > 0:36:45"it is an alternative design for the famous Hay Wain.
0:36:45 > 0:36:50"The picture may have been painted in the studio between 1817 and 1820
0:36:50 > 0:36:52"and not quite finished,
0:36:52 > 0:36:55"possibly because the painter preferred another composition."
0:36:57 > 0:36:59Do you know, this is a real revelation.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01Beckett was a leading Constable scholar,
0:37:01 > 0:37:03and for him to take it under his arm,
0:37:03 > 0:37:05well, that's progress.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08But hang on a moment, it looks different.
0:37:10 > 0:37:15If we compare the 1954 photo to how Henry's picture looks today,
0:37:15 > 0:37:18the trees are much fuller, there's more foliage.
0:37:18 > 0:37:23It would appear that your picture had been overpainted in some way,
0:37:23 > 0:37:29it had been enhanced, someone had clearly tried to turn your sketch
0:37:29 > 0:37:31into a slightly fuller picture.
0:37:31 > 0:37:32And this is the evidence.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34But at some time afterwards,
0:37:34 > 0:37:38somebody has taken the overpaint off.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43So this was a period in which it looked like a different painting.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47It's clear to see that Henry's painting still bears the scars
0:37:47 > 0:37:49of this botched makeover.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53Could this have influenced the opinion of the experts who viewed it
0:37:53 > 0:37:56in the 1990s and deemed it a fake?
0:37:56 > 0:38:00We need to delve deeper into the painting's past to find out just
0:38:00 > 0:38:02where Colnaghi acquired it.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09So here we have the artist on the left here.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14John Constable. Willy Lott's Cottage.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18Collection of Mrs Smith, St Andrew's,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Priests Lane, Shenfield,
0:38:21 > 0:38:23which must be in Essex.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26That is utterly wonderful.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29This is a name and address of a Mrs Smith
0:38:29 > 0:38:32who owned your picture before it was at Colnaghi's.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34It's very, very exciting,
0:38:34 > 0:38:37and I sort of wonder who Mrs Smith is.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41I mean, she was clearly an art collector and had very good taste, in my opinion.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46I'm taking up the search for the mysterious Mrs Smith,
0:38:46 > 0:38:49starting with burial records at the parish church in Shenfield, where she
0:38:49 > 0:38:52is listed as Clarice Emma Smith.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56She was married to a ship's broker called Alfred Harris Smith.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00But where did they acquire Henry's painting?
0:39:03 > 0:39:05I've been scouring newspaper archives for any mention
0:39:05 > 0:39:08of a Constable picture called Willy Lott's Cottage.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11I have unearthed a reference to one in a sale at Puttick & Simpson
0:39:11 > 0:39:14auctioneers in 1930.
0:39:14 > 0:39:15Could it be Henry's picture?
0:39:18 > 0:39:20The British Library holds an extensive collection
0:39:20 > 0:39:22of historic auction catalogues,
0:39:22 > 0:39:26and an archivist has searched out the records of Puttick & Simpson.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32So here is the catalogue.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35Puttick & Simpson, May 28th, 1930.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38And what is brilliant is we've got the auctioneer's set here.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42So these are the detailed notes that any auctioneer will take of the sale,
0:39:42 > 0:39:47who's buying, who's selling, the price that's been paid.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49So Willy Lott's Cottage.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54Here we go, Willy Lott's Cottage.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56But to be sure this is Henry's picture,
0:39:56 > 0:39:58we need to find out who bought it.
0:40:00 > 0:40:01Not there.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Got it. Got it!
0:40:06 > 0:40:08Here we go. AH Smith.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10That's got to be Alfred Harris Smith.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13The coincidence would just be too great.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15But who was selling it?
0:40:15 > 0:40:18Henry's painting, which we know was once owned by Alfred Harris Smith
0:40:18 > 0:40:23and Clarice Smith, was before that owned by none other than the
0:40:23 > 0:40:28Right Honourable Lord Dewar, formally of Savoy Court, London.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32And he sounds to me sufficiently grand to have owned a Constable.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42I've been doing a bit of digging about Lord Dewar.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45He lived here at The Savoy until his death in 1930,
0:40:45 > 0:40:47and it turns out he was quite a character.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51I'm meeting Philip and Henry here so I can share some exciting news.
0:40:53 > 0:40:54- Hello, Fiona.- Hi there.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59- So, of all the bars in all the world, why here?- I should have known
0:40:59 > 0:41:02you would have come up with some terrible cheesy line, Philip.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04- Henry, how are you doing? - Very well, thank you.
0:41:04 > 0:41:10The reason we're here is because I now know who owned your picture
0:41:10 > 0:41:14before Alfred and Clarice Smith.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16- Wow.- You've got a name? - I've got a name,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19and the reason we're here at The Savoy is because this is where he lived.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22He had a home in Sussex, but this was his home in London.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25And in fact, he was the longest-serving resident here at The Savoy,
0:41:25 > 0:41:29living here from 1904 to 1930, when he died,
0:41:29 > 0:41:31when the property from his apartment,
0:41:31 > 0:41:34including your picture, was sold.
0:41:34 > 0:41:35How fascinating.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37Absolutely fascinating.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39And before I tell you his name,
0:41:39 > 0:41:41I've brought you a little gift, Henry.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44- Oh.- As an embodiment of his spirit.
0:41:44 > 0:41:45Oh, great.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50A bottle.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55Oh, wow. John Dewar & Son, Dewar's White Label.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57OK, think less John Dewar, more son.
0:41:57 > 0:42:03- OK.- Because one of his sons was this man, Lord Thomas Dewar, Tommy Dewar,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06also known as Whisky Tom.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08And he was sent down here to London when he was 21.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12And his mission was to sell whisky, not just to London, but to the world.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16And he was a natural salesman, witty, extrovert, charming,
0:42:16 > 0:42:20went to the right parties, was friends with royalty.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22And he was a great success.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25He amassed a great wealth, and with great wealth...
0:42:29 > 0:42:32..came a great art collection.
0:42:32 > 0:42:39- Oh, great.- And after he died, his estate was sold at an auction house.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44And Willy Lott's Cottage was bought for 21 guineas
0:42:44 > 0:42:47by Alfred Harris Smith.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49- Smith. Smith.- The link.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52A Smith which we discovered in Colnaghi's.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56It's one and the same painting, and that's your picture.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59But, Henry, this takes us further down the spine of the 20th century,
0:42:59 > 0:43:01we're now in the '30s,
0:43:01 > 0:43:04but we need to find out where Tommy bought his pictures from,
0:43:04 > 0:43:06and specifically, where he bought yours.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14- To Whisky Tom.- To Whisky Tom. - To Whisky Tom.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24We are on our way to Perthshire in search of Whisky Tom.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29I want to find out more about Tommy Dewar and his art collection,
0:43:29 > 0:43:32and crucially, where he acquired Henry's picture.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38We've come to Dewar's Distillery in Aberfeldy to find out more.
0:43:38 > 0:43:45Born in 1864, Tommy is credited with making Dewar's a global success.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48He was one of the pioneers of modern advertising,
0:43:48 > 0:43:52selling his whisky to the world in the most innovative ways.
0:43:52 > 0:43:53In 1898,
0:43:53 > 0:43:56he created one of the first motion picture ads,
0:43:56 > 0:43:58featuring dancing Highlanders,
0:43:58 > 0:44:01which he screened on a New York rooftop.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04We are meeting whisky expert Charles Maclean,
0:44:04 > 0:44:07who's going to tell us more about the man who owned Henry's picture.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10How nice to meet you. Come and sit down.
0:44:10 > 0:44:14He was a most remarkable character by any standards.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16He was a consummate salesman,
0:44:16 > 0:44:19and he was one of the very first to use art in advertising.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25I can't help noticing around us in this room all of these images,
0:44:25 > 0:44:28highly familiar images of Scottish art.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31- I mean, the Raeburn of MacNab.- Mm.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34He owned that picture. You will see beside it these images of coaching
0:44:34 > 0:44:36inns by Charles Maggs.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38In which he's rather cheekily put the Dewar name!
0:44:38 > 0:44:41Yes, he filled in the Dewar's name and used them in his print advertising.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45And I can't help noticing over your head Monarch Of The Glen.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48- Monarch Of The Glen.- One of the most familiar images of 19th-century
0:44:48 > 0:44:50Victorian art. Now, you're not going to tell me
0:44:50 > 0:44:52that Tommy owned that as well.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54He did indeed, he bought it in 1916.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57And again, incorporated it into his advertising.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00"A strong link of companionship, both from the Glens.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04"One is Landseer's 'Monarch', and the other - 'Dewar's.'"
0:45:04 > 0:45:08So, the man who owned Monarch Of The Glen
0:45:08 > 0:45:10also owned your image.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12Very reassuring.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14Well, it adds substance, doesn't it?
0:45:14 > 0:45:18Tommy was clearly a serious art collector who doesn't look like
0:45:18 > 0:45:20he'd be duped by a dud.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23But where did he acquire Henry's painting?
0:45:23 > 0:45:28Dewar's archivist Jackie Sargent has been trying to answer that question.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30With no clues in the company accounts,
0:45:30 > 0:45:33she's been looking into where Tommy bought his other pictures.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37So we know he had the Monarch Of The Glen painting.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40In 1916 he purchased that.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42And I looked at who had that painting before him.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44And that was Thomas Barrett.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47He was the chairman of Pears Soap.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52Barrett was a pioneer of that type of advertising, using art,
0:45:52 > 0:45:55and then Tommy Dewar followed very much in those footsteps.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58So he was Tommy Dewar's mentor in many respects?
0:45:58 > 0:46:01I think he was, that's the impression I get.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04So this is an article in an art magazine in 1898
0:46:04 > 0:46:07about the art collection of Thomas Barrett.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09And here we have Monarch Of The Glen.
0:46:09 > 0:46:10So there we have it,
0:46:10 > 0:46:14and amongst the collection he also had nine Constables.
0:46:14 > 0:46:16- Nine Constables?- Yes.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19- Well, that's incredibly exciting. - Exactly. Yeah.
0:46:19 > 0:46:23And I'd like to draw your attention to a little excerpt here in the
0:46:23 > 0:46:25article, it describes one of them.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29"Another wonderful harmony of colour is a palette-knife sketch for
0:46:29 > 0:46:33"another of Constable's famous works,
0:46:33 > 0:46:36"the watermill with 'Willy Lott's' house."
0:46:38 > 0:46:41"..allowing for the effect of being viewed from a distance,
0:46:41 > 0:46:45"the example in question is unsurpassed for its breadth,
0:46:45 > 0:46:47"brilliant colouring, glowing harmonies,
0:46:47 > 0:46:49"atmosphere and illusory qualities."
0:46:49 > 0:46:52It certainly sounds like my painting.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54And a palette knife as well.
0:46:54 > 0:46:56You know, there's highly distinctive,
0:46:56 > 0:46:57sort of flattened-on strokes.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00And we've got Willy Lott's house!
0:47:00 > 0:47:01Yeah. It's great, isn't it?
0:47:01 > 0:47:02Those words,
0:47:02 > 0:47:08if they do describe what I feel they probably do, which is your picture,
0:47:08 > 0:47:10we're pushing back into the 19th century.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13We are getting close to the life of John Constable himself.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17Yeah. Well, this is very exciting.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19It's a compelling theory.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21Tommy Dewar bought Willy Lott's Cottage,
0:47:21 > 0:47:22Henry's painting,
0:47:22 > 0:47:25from friend and fellow art lover Thomas Barrett.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29The question is - where did Thomas Barrett get it?
0:47:29 > 0:47:32I'm still trying to take all of this in,
0:47:32 > 0:47:33all of these things I've seen today.
0:47:33 > 0:47:38I mean, I think it's true to say if I had encountered a fraction of what
0:47:38 > 0:47:41I know now 20 years ago, I probably would have never sold this picture,
0:47:41 > 0:47:43Henry wouldn't own it now.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47And all of these chapters that keep unfurling,
0:47:47 > 0:47:50but then there's that final chapter that we don't have,
0:47:50 > 0:47:53and that's to do with Constable, or Constable's family.
0:47:53 > 0:47:54Will we find it?
0:47:54 > 0:47:56I hope we will.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00We've taken the provenance as far as we can,
0:48:00 > 0:48:03but before we present our case to the experts,
0:48:03 > 0:48:06there's one final piece of evidence I want to explore.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10We are heading to a studio in north London because I need the help
0:48:10 > 0:48:12of a fine-art photographer.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16I've asked Andy Johnson, former head of photography at Christie's,
0:48:16 > 0:48:20to help me prove whether two pieces of evidence fit together.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26Remember the fully authenticated pencil drawing we've established
0:48:26 > 0:48:28relates to Henry's painting?
0:48:29 > 0:48:32Executed by Constable in 1809,
0:48:32 > 0:48:34this tiny sketch of Willy Lott's Cottage depicts
0:48:34 > 0:48:38the left-hand part of the composition.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41You can see it's matching the painting quite perfectly.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44Wow. That's great, isn't it,
0:48:44 > 0:48:47when you superimpose one over the other?
0:48:47 > 0:48:51Constable's pencil sketch matches up with Henry's picture,
0:48:51 > 0:48:54but the right-hand side of the composition is missing.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57I think I've found that missing link.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00Searching through all recorded sketches by Constable,
0:49:00 > 0:49:05I've chanced upon another drawing of Willy Lott's Cottage, dated 1816.
0:49:05 > 0:49:10It's held in a museum in Marseille, and they've sent me a digital image.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14OK, Andy, can you manoeuvre the Marseille drawing to the right of
0:49:14 > 0:49:16our drawing to show how they might fit?
0:49:16 > 0:49:17Right.
0:49:18 > 0:49:19Fading.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23Interesting.
0:49:23 > 0:49:28Can you crop the Marseille drawing in the upper roof area so that we
0:49:28 > 0:49:30can see the other drawing beneath?
0:49:38 > 0:49:40There it is, see what I mean?
0:49:40 > 0:49:42I do!
0:49:44 > 0:49:47It's like two bits of a jigsaw puzzle slotting together.
0:49:47 > 0:49:52The two drawings match all the elements in the composition perfectly.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56So we've got that full billowing foliage
0:49:56 > 0:49:59into which Willy Lott's Cottage
0:49:59 > 0:50:03nestles. And then, and I love this bit, bottom right-hand corner,
0:50:03 > 0:50:05sharp right angle.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07Do you see? The parapet.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09OK, there's a figure on it in Henry's sketch,
0:50:09 > 0:50:13but that's a really distinct compositional addition.
0:50:13 > 0:50:18It's bringing in one of the very few hard edges in the picture.
0:50:18 > 0:50:23I believe these two pencil drawings are what Constable would have used
0:50:23 > 0:50:25to create Henry's picture.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28Just sounding a slightly sceptical note for a moment,
0:50:28 > 0:50:30and this is tremendously exciting,
0:50:30 > 0:50:35but is it possible that a faker could have seen these sketches,
0:50:35 > 0:50:38put them together and created Henry's painting?
0:50:38 > 0:50:40- Is that possible?- Well...
0:50:40 > 0:50:44Apart from being the characteristic killjoy that you often are
0:50:44 > 0:50:48in moments like this, because I reckon this is great progress,
0:50:48 > 0:50:51um, yes, yes, I see where you're coming from.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53But let's just think about it.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57These drawings, once in Constable's studio,
0:50:57 > 0:50:59have been separated for over a century,
0:50:59 > 0:51:03one held in a museum in Marseille, the other in private ownership.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06The chances of them both coming together,
0:51:06 > 0:51:10being accessible to someone who wanted to create a pastiche,
0:51:10 > 0:51:13an amalgam that looked like Constable,
0:51:13 > 0:51:15I mean, the chances are so slim.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18Sure. With this evidence,
0:51:18 > 0:51:22surely now we are in a position to take Henry's painting and what we've
0:51:22 > 0:51:25- found to the experts.- I think we're as ready as we ever will be.
0:51:27 > 0:51:29But having failed twice in the past
0:51:29 > 0:51:33to convince Constable scholars this picture is genuine,
0:51:33 > 0:51:36have we done enough?
0:51:36 > 0:51:40Annie Lyles and Sarah Cove are two of the world's foremost Constable
0:51:40 > 0:51:44experts, and it's their opinion that the art market seeks when it comes
0:51:44 > 0:51:47to authenticating works believed to be by John Constable.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52They've been reviewing all the evidence and examining the picture
0:51:52 > 0:51:55in detail, as they weigh up their final decision.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59I have to admit to being unusually nervous at this point,
0:51:59 > 0:52:02but we have found more than I ever dared hope for.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05We've managed to establish the view that was painted.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07I mean, we've pretty well stood there,
0:52:07 > 0:52:08it's next to where The Hay Wain was done.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12We've looked into the painting physically, we found changes of mind.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16That's not the sort of thing you would expect from a forger.
0:52:16 > 0:52:21We have now discovered not one but two drawings that relate to this
0:52:21 > 0:52:23composition in just the sort of way that Constable worked.
0:52:25 > 0:52:26But with all of this evidence,
0:52:26 > 0:52:29I can't bear the thought that I might fail again.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34I think this is one of the strongest provenance trails we have ever had.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37Unbroken back 120 years.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40From the fabulously wealthy Battsons in Los Angeles,
0:52:40 > 0:52:43preceded by whisky baron Tommy Dewar,
0:52:43 > 0:52:46and before that, Thomas Barrett,
0:52:46 > 0:52:47the Constable collector.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50It's a stellar cast of owners.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52What we haven't managed to do, though,
0:52:52 > 0:52:56is take the painting back to Constable himself, or to his family.
0:52:57 > 0:52:58So I hope it's enough.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03Henry is on his way to the gallery.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06And we're all about to discover whether his painting has been
0:53:06 > 0:53:09accepted as a genuine work by John Constable.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13- Hi, Henry.- Hello, Henry.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16- Hello. Hello.- So, Judgment Day.
0:53:16 > 0:53:17Have I been a complete fool?
0:53:19 > 0:53:22- Hopefully not!- It's like walking into the headmaster's office.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26Well, if this is accepted as a fully authentic work by John Constable,
0:53:26 > 0:53:31by Annie Lyles and Sarah Cove, I have no doubt that on that basis,
0:53:31 > 0:53:35there will be collectors and museums out there who would consider paying
0:53:35 > 0:53:38in excess of £2 million on this painting.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42- And you paid?- 35,000.
0:53:42 > 0:53:47And it's not just the value, it's its historical significance as well.
0:53:47 > 0:53:52It would be extraordinarily important if we could prove
0:53:52 > 0:53:53that this sketch went into the
0:53:53 > 0:53:55thinking behind one of the most
0:53:55 > 0:53:59famous landscapes ever painted, The Hay Wain,
0:53:59 > 0:54:02it would be hugely interesting and significant in so many ways.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04Not much at stake.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09It's the moment of truth.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12Annie and Sarah are ready to give their verdict.
0:54:12 > 0:54:13- Hello.- Hello.
0:54:14 > 0:54:15Hi, Annie and Sarah.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19We are on tenterhooks here.
0:54:19 > 0:54:20Have you reached a verdict?
0:54:20 > 0:54:23We have, we've reviewed all the evidence
0:54:23 > 0:54:24and we've come to a decision.
0:54:27 > 0:54:28And in our opinion,
0:54:28 > 0:54:34it is indeed a genuine, authentic
0:54:34 > 0:54:36compositional sketch by John Constable.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39- Fabulous.- Oh!- Wahey!
0:54:39 > 0:54:42Oh, brilliant, brilliant.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46- Very good.- Oh, great.- That is such wonderful news.- Very good news.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49- A bit of a relief?- Yes.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53This is very good news. Yeah.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55I'm thrilled, I've always loved the painting,
0:54:55 > 0:54:57but I had the uncertainty as well.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02So a lost landscape by John Constable has at last been
0:55:02 > 0:55:04restored to its rightful place.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09But I've got to ask you, what was it that persuaded you?
0:55:09 > 0:55:13I mean, I've tried twice to do that, admittedly a long time ago,
0:55:13 > 0:55:15but what did it this time?
0:55:15 > 0:55:19I thought, if it was by Constable, it would be around about 1820.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23And absolutely everything is there that you would expect to find in a
0:55:23 > 0:55:25Constable of that date.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28We know that at some point it was overpainted,
0:55:28 > 0:55:31but most of that has been removed now,
0:55:31 > 0:55:35and the small bits that are left don't affect the attribution at all.
0:55:35 > 0:55:36What persuaded you, Annie?
0:55:36 > 0:55:40One of the most important things in relation to persuading me finally
0:55:40 > 0:55:42was those related sketches.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46But also the provenance chain is so convincing.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49You go backwards in time to Thomas Barrett,
0:55:49 > 0:55:52and actually I have an extra piece of evidence for you.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54I've discovered in a sale catalogue,
0:55:54 > 0:55:58Christie's, 1874, that one Barrett,
0:55:58 > 0:56:01and I think we can assume very safely that that's Thomas Barrett,
0:56:01 > 0:56:06bought a Constable submitted for sale by Lionel Constable,
0:56:06 > 0:56:12Constable's son, described as a sketch for The Valley Farm, which,
0:56:12 > 0:56:16in my opinion, is almost sure to be this.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19Wow. What do you make of that, Henry? That's incredible.
0:56:19 > 0:56:25- Fantastic.- It's very rare to find it so neatly going all the way back in
0:56:25 > 0:56:27that unbroken chain.
0:56:27 > 0:56:28Knowing what we know now, then,
0:56:28 > 0:56:30how important would you say this painting is?
0:56:30 > 0:56:33It's very important indeed.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37I am staggered. It's fabulous.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40So what will you do with this painting now, Henry?
0:56:40 > 0:56:43Well, it needs to be displayed.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45- So the public can enjoy it as well? - Absolutely.
0:56:48 > 0:56:49What a brilliant result.
0:56:49 > 0:56:53I mean, how often does that happen, that we're able to take a painting
0:56:53 > 0:56:55all the way back to the brush of the artist himself?
0:56:55 > 0:56:57And you must feel vindicated.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59Well, perhaps I wasn't deluded after all.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01I mean, it began to feel like that.
0:57:01 > 0:57:06I am so thrilled for Henry, but also for John Constable.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10We've added another painting to the canon of one of the best-loved
0:57:10 > 0:57:11landscape painters of all time.
0:57:13 > 0:57:17If you think you have an undiscovered masterpiece or
0:57:17 > 0:57:19other precious object, contact us at...