Latest news with #FakeOrFortune
Daily Mirror
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
BBC Fake or Fortune guest in tears over staggering value of 'Winston Churchill' painting
BBC One viewers watched as Barry James was taken on an emotional rollercoaster during the latest instalment of the hit TV show A guest on BBC One 's Fake or Fortune was overcome with emotion and shed tears upon discovering the potential worth of a painting he suspected might have been by Sir Winston Churchill. The poignant scene was broadcast on Monday night (July 21), as BBC One's hit show returned for a fresh series, hosted by Fiona Bruce and art connoisseur Philip Mould. The episode featured Barry James, a devoted carer and art enthusiast, who disclosed that he had snapped up the piece for a mere £140 at an antiques fair in Ardingly, West Sussex. The artwork, portraying a tranquil English garden on a summer's day, was speculated to be one of Churchill's elusive creations from 1916. If authentic, Philip informed Barry that the painting could fetch a staggering £600,000. Barry was visibly moved during the examination of the painting, his eyes brimming with tears at the thought that his humble acquisition might transform his life. Fiona told the audience: "Barry James, a passionate carer and art collector, believes he may have done just that." Philip remarked: "So the owner of the painting has agreed to show it to us in one of the houses that Churchill used to stay in. You'll love it. A modest sort of place." As the painting was revealed on camera for the first time, Fiona commented, "very pretty work, isn't it?" while Philip queried: "Could this painting of an English garden on a summer's day be one of Sir Winston's lost works?". Barry's elation, however, turned to devastation by the programme's conclusion, when experts revealed the painting's attribution to Churchill remained unresolved. The BBC programme highlighted that no official organisation currently verifies Churchill's artwork, leaving them powerless to confirm or dismiss its authenticity, reports the Express. Barry was once more spotted holding back tears as the verdict was announced. Despite the emotional upheaval, he assured Fiona and Philip he would remain patient should fresh evidence emerge later. "Got to love Barry on tonight's #FakeOrFortune, he seems like a really nice bloke. I really hope someone offers him a £million for that Churchill painting," praised one viewer on X. "What a stupid and frustrating thing that the Churchill experts won't authenticate the picture," wrote another frustrated fan, whilst a third added: "Woah! It's incredible with the ups and downs of seeking authentication. So near but like the auction house recommended, more time will tell.." Though departing empty-handed, supporters continue rooting for Barry, who had hoped to use potential proceeds for a special holiday with his disabled son. "Oh, fingers crossed for Barry," another admirer expressed warmly.
Telegraph
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
If this painting is by Churchill, one man's life will change forever
Imagine buying a painting at an antiques fair for less than £150, then getting it home and finding an inscription on the back that reads: 'Painting of Mrs Winston Churchill on wall of sunken garden at Hurstmonceux Castle, Sussex, by the Rt Hon Winston S Churchill, June 1916.' Then imagine that all the evidence pointed to it being the genuine article, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. And yet nobody will authenticate it. This was one of the best episodes of Fake or Fortune? (BBC One), but also one of the most frustrating. 'Poor Barry'. That's what I kept thinking all the way through the programme. Barry, the painting's owner and a passionate art collector, is a carer with a disabled son. The money he would make from selling this piece as one of the earliest known works by Churchill would be life-changing. But it's not just a sympathy vote. With every bit of research shown on the programme, the case for the painting's authenticity grew ever stronger. Unfortunately, the family members and experts who deal with such things tell him they are not in a position to authenticate it, sending Barry off to a professional auction house. Bonhams said they wouldn't authenticate it either, because they prefer to rely on the opinion of Churchill experts. So Barry is in limbo. The detective work done by the programme was thorough, with presenters Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce travelling around the country to gather the evidence. Bruce went to Herstmonceux (its current spelling) to stand on the exact spot where the artist would have. There is no official record of the Churchills being at the castle in June 1916, but Violet Bonham Carter wrote in her diaries of seeing him painting in the gardens one June morning of that year, and Bruce even interviewed an expert who identified the type of roses in the picture and said they would have flowered in the month of June. A handwriting expert matched the inscription to Claude Lowther, a politician who bought Hertsmonceux in 1911 and was said by Bonham Carter to have hosted Churchill that summer. That, and evidence that another view of the castle had been painted underneath, were taken as strong evidence that this wasn't a forgery. Meanwhile, Mould pointed out the similarities in style to Churchill's other paintings (he wasn't very good at painting people). It's all circumstantial, and maybe that's as far as the evidence will go. When you're having to consult a rose expert at RHS Wisley, there's a sense that you're clutching at straws. Fake or Fortune has had luck in this area before, though: a painting of a fountain in St Paul-de-Vence, in the South of France, was featured on the show in 2015 as a potential Churchill work and a corroborating photograph turned up five years later. The search was compelling, and the stakes felt high. For now, Barry lives in hope, determined to hang on to it until he can prove it really is a work by Churchill rather than selling it for £100,000-200,000 – Mould's estimate – to a buyer willing to chance their arm. Good luck to him.
Daily Mirror
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Fake Or Fortune guest speechless as 'painting by Sir Winston Churchill' worth huge sum
A man who paid a fraction of that could make a life-changing amount if the picture of Clemintine Churchill is proved to have been painted by the revered wartime Prime Minister An amateur art collector who claims he has found a lost painting by Sir Winston Churchill is told it could be worth more than £600,000. Barry James appears on the BBC1 show Fake Or Fortune tonight (MON) with his intriguing picture. He tells presenter Fiona Bruce and international art dealer Phil Mould that he picked it up for just £140 in an antiques market in Ardingly near Gatwick, three years ago because he liked 'the colours and composition'. But it was only later when it took it out of the frame that he found a mysterious inscription on the back which read: 'This painting of Mrs Winston Churchill on wall of sunken garden at Hurstmonceux (CORR) Castle, Sussex, by The Right Hon. Winston S Churchill. June 1916.' It shows what is thought to be Sir Winston's wife Clementine perched on a wall reading a book in the pink flowered gardens of the castle. Barry, from West Sussex, hopes the BBC series, returning for its 13th run, can validate it. In the BBC show, shocked Barry is told that paintings by Churchill – who was British PM from 1940-45 and 1951-55 - can fetch millions of pounds. In 2021 Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie sold one - The Tower Of The Koutoubia Mosque, painted in Marrakesh during WWII - for a record £7million. And Barry is informed that if his picture is found to be an original then at auction it could make more than £600,000. The TV duo embark on a search to find out if the artist really was war leader Churchill. Records show how he took up painting in 1915 - in water colours to begin with and later in oils - after he had completed his military service during WW1 and narrowly escaped death. He looked on his new hobby as something that took him away from the stress of his high powered life and it became a source of relaxation. Fiona, 61, delves into a book written by his friend Violet Bonham Carter called Winston Churchill As I Knew Him, in which she mentions that the politician stayed at the castle with his paints and brushes. The author even writes that he was there as a guest in 1916 – but she mentions August rather than June. Undeterred, Fiona visits the castle to locate the exact spot where Clementine would have sat on the wall in the garden to be painted. Meanwhile art dealer Phil does some digging to check that it is not stolen – and gets the all clear. A further mystery is uncovered when the artwork is x-rayed and another painting is discovered underneath. Experts believe it looks like a painting of a castle – possibly the very one where Winston and his wife stayed. This news is not unwelcome as the statesman was well-known for re-using canvases. But some doubt is thrown into the mix when it is discovered that the handwriting on the back is not Churchill's but that of Conservative politician Colonel Claude Lowther, who bought Herstmonceux and restored it – and invited his friend to stay there in 1916. Barry, who is married and is a carer with a disabled son, admits: 'If the painting is real, I'd probably end up reluctantly selling it, obviously for the family. We have always wanted to go to Niagara Falls. Our son is disabled and I think he'd enjoy something like that.' Viewers can find out if the painting is real on the new series of Fake Or Fortune, tonight at 9pm.
