FACTUAL
3
WILLY LOTT’S COTTAGE
by John Constable, circa 1820
Thanks to Fake or Fortune?, in 2017, Philip finally
proved that a painting he sold for £35,000 years
earlier was indeed a prototype of the British
artist’s most famous work, The Hay Wain.
‘I bought this many years ago suspecting what
it was, but didn’t have the clout or resources to
prove it was by Constable,’ sighs Philip. ‘I sold
it for a profit of £20,000 and knew one day it
would be proved to be authentic. Two decades
later, with new technology and some fantastic
research, we proved it was worth £3million. It left
me with feelings of deep elation and frustration!’2
SALVATOR MUNDI
by Leonardo da Vinci, circa 1500
The Italian genius’ masterpiece was rediscovered
in 2005 at a regional auction in the US. Two years
later, it was put up for sale at Christie’s in New
York , with Philip asked to comment in the
press on the significance of it being listed in
a contemporary art auction.
‘This was long thought to be a copy
of a lost original and could have been
anyone’s for as little as $11,000 a
decade ago,’ says Philip. ‘But through
technological insights and careful
examination it was proved to be a work
by one of the Renaissance’s greatest
artists. It sold for $450million two
years ago and is probably the greatest
discovery in modern art history. I’m
not sure what I was doing on the day it
was sold for a few thousand pounds,
I must have been asleep!’
4
WHEN WILL YOU MARRY?
by Paul Gauguin, 1892
In series six of Fake or Fortune? in 2017, Philip
was delighted to be presented with two
potential pictures by French post-Impressionist
giant Gauguin. One proved inauthentic but the
other, a pencil sketch, was the real deal.
‘The actual painting
is worth hundreds of
millions of pounds,
but we discovered a
preliminary sketch
by Gauguin,’ recalls
Philip. ‘A lady who
lived in Manchester
had inherited it,
believing it was a
worthless copy, but it
was actually worth
£200,000, which
was a little miracle.’5
PLUTO AGED TWELVE
by Lucian Freud, 2000
The British painter, who died in 2011, was
famed for painting people but dogs were
another favourite subject. His whippet, Pluto,
often took centre stage as he charted her life
from 1988 until her death in 2003.
‘As I approach the age of 60, I’ve become
sentimental for dogs and this is a painting of
an exquisite hound, captured by one of the
greatest artists of the 20th Century,’ says
Philip. ‘The etching I have was owned by
Pluto’s trainer and I will never sell that piece.’6
ARTHUR, PRINCE
OF WALES
by Unknown, circa 1500
This small royal portrait
is one of the earliest-
surviving easel portraits
in British art, and
depicts Arthur when
he was heir to the newly
won throne of his father,
King Henry VII.
‘This is the painting
that started me in business,’ remembers Philip.
‘I found it miscatalogued at an auction. It’s the
only known portrait of Henry VIII’s older brother
[who died of a mysterious illness when he was
15], so it was of huge historical importance.
I had to keep calm so as not to give the game
away, but inside my heart was pounding.
I persuaded my bank manager to loan me the
money to buy it – he’s loved me ever since!’