![\"'I](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_261237719-04af.jpg\")
\n\t\tArt blogger Robjn found a forgotten painting worth an eye-watering sum (Picture: Emily Manley\/BBC)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tArt blogger Robjn found a forgotten painting worth an eye-watering sum (Picture: Emily Manley\/BBC)<\/p>\n
Art blogger Robjn bought more than 30 paintings during a \u2018trolley dash\u2019 at an auction house in the east of England back in 2020, hunting for lost treasures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among his finds, he was particularly excited to pick up a painting by Vera Cunningham \u2014 which came bundled with another piece, a sort of by-product \u2014 for just \u00a335.<\/p>\n
But on the latest episode of the BBC<\/a>\u2019s Fake or Fortune<\/a>, Robjn was stunned to discover that the so-called \u2018by-product\u2019 is actually a forgotten original by Frances Hodgkins, worth around \u00a350,000.<\/p>\n \u2018I did wonder if it was the painting of a schoolchild when I first saw it,\u2019 he told Metro. \u2018I didn\u2019t really think much of it, just shoved it into an air-conditioned barn, and it went into my storage area to be forgotten.\u2019<\/p>\n The picture in question is almost certainly a missing painting called October Landscape, once exhibited at London\u2019s Lefevre Gallery in 1943.<\/p>\n It later became part of the Hertfordshire Pictures for Schools collection \u2014 an initiative aimed at displaying real works by real artists in schools, rather than reproductions or prints, to encourage a post-war generation to appreciate art and make it accessible to all children, not just the elite.<\/p>\n \t\t Robjn writes a blog about the paintings he\u2019s purchased from this collection and had previously attributed the piece to Vera Cunningham, describing it simply as a \u2018garden scene.\u2019<\/p>\n Later, he received an email from a reader who insisted the painting was actually by Hodgkins and urged him to investigate. Luckily, Robjn took their advice.<\/p>\n Fake or Fortune, hosted by Fiona Bruce and renowned art dealer Philip Mould, follows members of the public who suspect they might be sitting on a hidden treasure.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s a total lottery \u2014 some leave disappointed, while others, like Robjn, discover they own a valuable original, in this case, by one of the most revolutionary female artists of the 20th century, whose work was once exhibited alongside that of Pablo Picasso.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t5 Tips to Find a Fortune\t\t\t<\/p>\n Here are five top tips for any budding art dealers out there courtesy of Fake or Fortune\u2019s own Phillip Mould\u2026<\/p>\n Look at the back of a picture<\/p>\n The back can often tell you more than the front \u2013 I\u2019m talking about labels, I\u2019m talking about auction history, what people might have inscribed or written on something. That\u2019s one of the ways that you can be led to an interesting artist.<\/p>\n Where has the picture come from?<\/p>\n Was your great-granddad known to have collected art? Was he someone with an eye? Or did he just pick up what was closest to him and bang it on the wall?<\/p>\n Google around<\/p>\n I know it\u2019s an obvious thing to say, but all contributors have normally gone online and Googled the artist before they get to us. If you\u2019ve got an artist\u2019s name or a potential artist name, look to see other works by that artist. Just use your own eye, compare what you\u2019re looking at with what you\u2019re seeing on the screen.<\/p>\n Be aware that fakers will sometimes base a work exactly on a known painting in the public domain. Ask yourself that question, \u2018Am I actually being duped by a replica of something that the Faker or a faker has seen?\u2019<\/p>\n Phone a friend<\/p>\n Get advice from someone who knows or ask a regional auction House. Regional houses are now doing better than they ever have before. You could always walk something around to a regional auction house and get a view. They might or might not be able to tell you the answer, but you\u2019re looking at people who\u2019ve seen so much that they carry wisdom.<\/p>\n Fake or Fortune<\/p>\n Finally, once you think you might have something interesting, there is, of course, another way to find out, and that is to contact Fake or Fortune.<\/p>\n \t\t For now, though, Robjn is adamant that his rare gem isn\u2019t for sale. In fact, it\u2019s not even on the wall.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s sat behind a pile of other pictures,\u2019 he says, slightly sheepish. \u2018The problem with buying things at auction is it\u2019s quite addictive. You find other pieces that interest you, and you just bounce from one level of interest to the next. So somewhere, behind a load of artists of the period, she\u2019s there \u2014 on the floor.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018My walls are starting to resemble that old-fashioned Stella Artois ad set \u2014 just pictures everywhere. But it\u2019ll go up, eventually.\u2019<\/p>\n We\u2019re joined by Mould, who describes Robjn as a \u2018discerning hoarder\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018You\u2019re not myopically hoarding, but you do it with discernment, and you have a great eye.\u2019 He tells Robjn. \u2018The reason that Robin has so many pictures is because he is a buyer who will take risks online and end up with just one painting in a knot, but a clutch.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t As we speak, no one knew Robjn had embarked on such an extraordinary adventure \u2014 he hadn\u2019t told a soul about the discovery or the journey it took to get there.<\/p>\n Authenticating the painting required an international team of investigators. Though largely forgotten in the UK, Hodgkins has seen a resurgence in her native New Zealand, where Mould notes she is considered \u2018one of their most important artists of the mid-20th century.\u2019<\/p>\n It was there that a copy of the painting was sent, and a team of experts confirmed emphatically that Robjn\u2019s find is indeed a genuine Hodgkins \u2014 and the long-lost October Landscape.<\/p>\n \t\t Despite having uncovered many treasures in his time<\/a>, Mould called this discovery particularly thrilling. \u2018I was licking my lips to get involved with an artist who already really excited me. This was bold and head-turning, technically skilled, clearly old \u2014 and all of that put together means I\u2019m interested.\u2019<\/p>\n The process took weeks, but Robjn was so busy finishing a book about the Pictures for Schools scheme that he joked, \u2018A bomb could have gone off outside my house and I wouldn\u2019t have cared.\u2019<\/p>\n Even as the show\u2019s conclusion approached, Robjn remained cautious<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m a pessimist by nature, so if you start with the idea that it\u2019s never going to work out, then you\u2019re never going to be disappointed,\u2019 he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Since filming, I\u2019ve forgotten about it, really. For many viewers, the show is all about wealth \u2014 but I bought the painting in 2020, and I\u2019ve got to the end of this journey. To have it authenticated after trying for all those years is worth more than the value.\u2019<\/p>\n Fake or Fortune? continues on August 11 at 9 pm on BBC1. <\/p>\n Got a story?<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n \t\t\tComments Arrow Arrow![\"'I](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_261237717-6a37.jpg\")
\n\t\tFor the low, low price of \u00a335, he got a Frances Hodgkins original (Picture: Emily Manley\/BBC)<\/p>\n![\"'I](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_261238062-9045.jpg\")
\n\t\tDespite the value Robjn isn\u2019t selling (Picture: Emily Manley\/BBC)<\/p>\n![\"'I](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_261237715-c377.jpg\")
\n\t\tIt took a team of investigators to authenticate the painting (Picture: Emily Manley\/BBC)<\/p>\n![\"'I](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_261237637-1c2e.jpg\")
\n\t\tPeter Mould believes the disocvery is \u2018particualrly thrilling\u2019 (Picture: Emily Manley\/BBC)<\/p>\n
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