Britain's Lost Masterpieces

Britain's Lost Masterpieces is a factual BBC Four documentary television series that aims to uncover overlooked art treasures in British public collections, in conjunction with Art UK.[1][2] It is presented by Bendor Grosvenor, along with art historian Jacky Klein (series 1) and Emma Dabiri (series 2 to 5). The series also features the art restoration work of Simon Gillespie. In North American syndication, the series is called The Art Detectives.[3]

Britain's Lost Masterpieces
GenreDocumentary
Presented by
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series5
No. of episodes15
Production
Running time60 minutes
Release
Original networkBBC Four
Original release28 September 2016 (2016-09-28) –
7 February 2022 (2022-02-07)

Development

Each episode begins with Grosvenor locating a prospective masterpiece in the digitized collection of Art UK.[4] The restoration work of Gillespie's shop is key to a successful attribution.[4]

There was a minor controversy regarding similarities between Britain's Lost Masterpieces and the previous show Grosvenor was on, Fake or Fortune?[5]

The COVID-19 pandemic delayed production of Series 5, planned for Spring 2020. Production resumed in October 2020, only for Grosvenor to catch COVID-19.[6]

Episodes

Series 1

Series one, comprising three episodes, was aired in September and October 2016.[7]

  1. 28 September 2016 (2016-09-28): Swansea - a 17th century work by Jacob Jordaens.[2]
  2. 3 October 2016 (2016-10-03): Aberdeenshire and Angus - three works, including a landscape by Claude and a Madonna attributed "After Raphael". The discovery caused considerable excitement before the experts concluded "probably not" by Raphael in 2019.[8]
  3. 5 October 2016 (2016-10-05): Belfast - works by Pieter Brueghel the Younger.

Series 2

Series two was aired in September and October 2017.

  1. 29 September 2017 (2017-09-29): Pollok House, Glasgow – a portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, is shown to be by Sir Peter Paul Rubens.[9]
  2. 5 October 2017 (2017-10-05): Derby Museum, Derby – a veduta painting of the Ponte Nomentano on the outskirts of Rome, which had been overpainted, is restored and revealed to be a work by Joseph Wright of Derby.[10][11]
  3. 11 October 2017 (2017-10-11): Carmarthenshire County Museum, Carmarthen – a portrait of the 2nd Earl of Carbery is restored extensively and attributed to Sir Peter Lely, while a painting of the earl's second wife, Frances, has its attribution changed from Lely to Mary Beale.
  4. 18 October 2017 (2017-10-18): Hospitalfield House, Arbroath – a portrait of an unknown man is cleaned and identified as a work by Antonis Mor.

Series 3

Series three was aired in August 2018.

  1. 17 August 2018 (2018-08-17): Knightshayes Court, Tiverton – a small painting depicting a young Rembrandt that was classified as a mere copy of his Self-Portrait with Dishevelled Hair undergoes technical analysis, which suggests that it is actually from Rembrandt's workshop. Once the portrait's overpainting is removed, Grosvenor believes that it is a preparatory study by Rembrandt himself, but the Rembrandt expert Ernst van de Wetering is not convinced and still feels that it is a copy.
  2. 23 August 2018 (2018-08-23): Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester – a painting that was thought to be a portrait of Charles Burney and attributed to Nathaniel Dance is restored and shown to be a work by Johann Zoffany.
  3. 30 August 2018 (2018-08-30): Petworth House, Petworth – a portrait of an unknown Genoese lady has the name Rubens displayed on its frame label, but Grosvenor believes that it is by Rubens' pupil, Anthony van Dyck.[12] In addition, a painting of a young cardinal (possibly Giulio della Rovere), which had its attribution downgraded in the past from Titian to "School of Titian", is restored and re-attributed to Titian himself.[13]

Series 4
George Oakley Aldrich
(attributed to Batoni)

Series four was aired in October and November 2019.

  1. 30 October 2019 (2019-10-30): Bodleian Library, Oxford – an examination is made of a portrait depicting a young man, George Oakley Aldrich, who graduated from the University of Oxford and became a medical doctor. The picture is thought to be a Grand Tour portrait that was painted in Rome around 1750. After extensive research and cleaning, the painting is identified as a work by Pompeo Batoni.[14]
  2. 6 November 2019 (2019-11-06): Birmingham Art Gallery – potential landscapes by Thomas Gainsborough, Jan Brueghel the Younger and Joos de Momper are investigated.
  3. 13 November 2019 (2019-11-13): National Museum of Wales – a potential painting by Sandro Botticelli is investigated.

Series 5

The first two episodes of Series five were aired in February 2021, followed by a third in February 2022.

  1. 1 February 2021 (2021-02-01): Brighton Pavilion - Potential portraits by Francesco Trevisani and Joos van Cleve are investigated.
  2. 8 February 2021 (2021-02-08): Tatton Park - A potential portrait by either Parmigianino or Francesco Salviati is investigated.
  3. 7 February 2022 (2022-02-07): Glasgow Museums - A potential portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds is investigated.

References
  1. "Britain's Lost Masterpieces - BBC Four". BBC. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  2. "BBC Four's Britain's Lost Masterpieces discovers rare painting by 17th Century master Jacob Jordaens". BBC. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  3. "Britain's Lost Masterpieces (TV Series 2016– ) - IMDb". IMDb.
  4. "Art Matters podcast: Finding Britain's lost masterpieces | Art UK".
  5. "Fake or Fortune presenters in dispute over new BBC show".
  6. "I finally went to see some art—and caught Covid-19". 7 October 2020.
  7. "Series 1, Britain's Lost Masterpieces - Episode guide - BBC Four". BBC. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  8. "Scots stately home's Madonna 'probably not' by Raphael".
  9. O'Connor, Roisin (25 September 2017). "Lost Rubens portrait of one of the 'most famous gay men in history' rediscovered in Glasgow". The Independent. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  10. "View of the Ponte Nomentano, by Joseph Wright of Derby". Derby Museums. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  11. "A View of the Ponte Nomentano, near Rome". Art UK. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  12. "Portrait of an Unknown Genoese Lady". Art UK. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  13. "Portrait of an Unknown Young Cardinal". Art UK. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  14. "George Oakley Aldrich". Art UK. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
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