All language subtitles for Fake.or.Fortune.S12E02.Helen.McNicoll.1080p.WEBRip.x264-CBFM

At 42 million... The art world, where
paintings change hands for fortune.

Thank you very much.

But for every known masterpiece, there
may be another still waiting to be

discovered. That is massively
encouraging.

International art dealer Philip Mould
and I have teamed up to hunt for lost

by great artists.

We use old -fashioned detective work and
state -of -the -art science to get to

the truth.

Science can enable us to see beyond the
human eye.

I can't believe it. Every case is packed
with surprise and intrigue. It's like a

challenge. Who am I? But not every
painting is quite what it seems.

Someone has put a signature on top.

Yes. Dastardly. It's a journey that can
end in joy.

You have an original thing.

Congratulations. Or bitter
disappointment.

Depressing end to the day. Sorry.

In this episode, could this picture,
picked up for a song from a sale room in

England, be by one of Canada's most
treasured impressionists, Helen

Her paintings were some of the best pure
impressionist paintings by a Canadian.

Does that exist?

Overlooked for years, McNichol's work
now sells for six -figure sums.

$250 ,000.

Our investigation takes us to the
artist's birthplace of Canada, but proof

hard to come by.

There is no women of the fields listed
here.

Well, that's depressing.

Our search for evidence takes us to some
unlikely places.

Oh, yes. That is what they look like,
isn't it? With an owner needing a life

-changing windfall. I'm hoping that it
might make enough to get a bungalow or

something. And a wealthy collector
waiting in the wings.

Oh.

Wow.

Can we find the evidence we need?

I've got the verdict here.

I'm so nervous, honestly.

This week's case takes us to the
medieval city of Lincoln in the East

We've been contacted by a viewer who
wants our help investigating a picture

bought on a whim from a local auction.

We're meeting artist and small -time art
dealer David Taylor.

Hello. Hi there. Come in, please. Thank
you.

David hopes he's found a painting by one
of Canada's most celebrated female

artists.

So, looking at a breezy outdoor scene,
some figures in a field.

It looks as though they're harvesting.

Strong, bright colours.

Very impressionistic.

I have to say, I love the picture.

Full of light, full of movement. That's
a child, I think, picking something with

a basket.

It's beautiful.

And in the bottom left -hand corner,
what looks like a signature.

Yes, I think it is signature.

Helen McNicol, I believe.

Helen McNicol.

I have to say, that's not a name I've
ever heard of. I think Helen McNicol is

name worth hanging on to. Early 20th
century, a leading Canadian

now much collected and greatly regarded.

Helen Galloway McNicol was born in
Toronto in 1879.

A deaf artist who embraced a life full
of travel and adventure, she became one

of Canada's most important
Impressionists.

Basing herself in London, she painted in
England and France.

Light was her primary subject. She was
adept at painting sun -drenched

landscapes, typically with women working
and children playing.

But in 1915, just as her career was
taking off, McNicol died suddenly

complications from diabetes.

She was just 35 years old.

Recently, there has been a resurgence of
interest in her work.

Last year, the chintz sofa sold for a
record -breaking sum, more than half a

million pounds.

Could David have struck gold and found a
valuable masterpiece by one of Canada's

most treasured artists?

So where did you get this picture from
then, David?

I bought it at auction.

I was just viewing, wandering round.

This was in a corner in a plastic 1960s
frame, just bowled over by it really,

painted by someone who really knows what
they're doing.

How much did you pay for it?

The most I've ever paid for a painting
at auction, £2 ,090.

Had you ever heard of Helen McNichol?
No, I've never heard of her before.

Were you worried about spending that
much money? Very worried. I mean, the

thing was I had to tell my partner.

But this gave you one of those dangerous
rushes of blood to the head.

Absolutely, when the hair's on the back
of your neck, stand up.

So how did the auction house catalogue
it? It was catalogued in the style of

Helen Galloway McNichol.

but I could see that somebody had
reduced the size of the painting, which

an inch of the pigment tucked into the
frame.

So when I looked with my little torch
under the stretcher at the bottom, I

see something there.

David's excellent detective work soon
paid off.

Once home, he removed the frame and
discovered that the picture was in fact

larger, folded over the support along
each edge.

Now restretched to its full size, the
signature is revealed.

But that wasn't the only curious thing
about the picture when David bought it.

There's a small plastic plaque on the
front of the frame which said, Women of

the Fields, Helen Nichol, spelt wrongly
with one L.

And the date, 1958.

1958? That's an odd date, because Helen
McNicol died, I think, in 1915.

The wrong date and the wrong spelling on
the plaque is not helpful.

To be a genuine McNicol, we're going to
need more solid evidence.

Were there any other clues about
provenance with the picture? There was a

provenance in the catalogue.

The Pine Coffin Family of Canada and
then by descent.

That's got to be a reasonably easy name
to search, I would think. There can't be

too many Pine Coffin Families in Canada.
No, it's a strange name, isn't it?

And in terms of value, then, so you paid
just over £2 ,000 for it.

If it is by Helen McNichol, what would
it be worth, Philip?

Well, her star is rising so fast at the
moment, it could be worth £300 ,000.

Oh, God.

Can I sit down now?

Well, if this is fake or fortune, I have
to ask, if it's not by Helen McNichol,

what would it be worth then, Philip? It
would be worth what you paid for it.

Yes, I thought so. A couple of grand.

So if we do manage to prove it's by
Helen McNichol, what would you do with

I'd like to sell it, because I want the
money.

No, really, we're on two levels here. My
problem is my sense of balance is

terrible. I fell down the stairs the
other day. You're more somewhere on one

level, really.

I'm hoping that it might make enough to
get a bungalow or something.

So this would be a life -changing... It
is, it would be, yes, if it was.

But I'm prepared for it.

Not to be, as well.

I think that's a very healthy approach,
don't you, to this whole process we're

about to embark on.

And hopefully we will be able to prove
it by Helen McNichol and you will be

to change your lives and buy a house
that's more comfortable for you to live

That would be great.

Before our investigation gets underway,
I want to get under the skin of David's

picture.

Does it have the quality of a McNicol
painting?

At first glance, this looked like a
really thought -out picture of a central

figure harvesting with two other figures
similarly working.

Now, that is exactly the type of subject
matter that she went in for.

The really strong mood music, though, is
Impressionism.

I mean, look particularly at the crop.
You've got these deliciously thick

impasto brushstrokes, and that's a
hallmark.

And the other thing is the absence of
shadows.

Depressionists didn't like the darkness,
and the darkest colour that we've got

in this composition is the blue, just to
the right of the main figure.

But there are things that worry me.

Could this be exactly the type of
painting that a forger would feel it was

doing? Why?

My experience of fakers is that very
often they will choose an artist who's

making big money, but not one who's
necessarily that well -known, so that it

can't be easily dismissed.

McNicol exactly falls into that
category.

You know, to go from... A painting
bought publicly for £2 ,000 to an

impressionist treasure worth potentially
£300 ,000 is the stuff of dreams.

In order to get there, there's a lot to
prove.

Come on in here, Fiona.

David is no novice when it comes to art.

Not only does he love to collect, but
he's also an artist and knows what to

for when buying a painting.

So I want to know what research he's
done so far on this picture.

Have you contacted anyone about it, done
any research into it?

Well, I did contact Heffles in Canada.

They're an auction house who sold, about
ten years ago, a painting called

Watching the Boats, fully catalogued as
Helen McNichol.

They came back to me and I got this
email.

I can let you read that.

So, hi David, thanks for the photo.

I had a chance to quickly check our
references on McNicol and could not

this title or picture.

After conferring with David and Robert
Heffel, we'll have to pass at this time.

I'm sorry we can't provide further
assistance, but good luck with your

So you hit a dead end with that. That
was awful.

That was awful. I mean, can you imagine?

If we do prove it's by Helen McNicol,
what would it mean to you to identify

That would be wonderful.

I just love her now.

I've seen so much of her work.

For that to be accepted would be just
wonderful.

Back at the gallery in London, we're
going over the evidence.

It really is a very striking image,
this.

It's gorgeous.

And we know that David bought it at
auction and the sales listing is still

online. So in the listing...

It said, from the Pine Coffin family,
originated in Canada and thenced by

descent. So it's gone down through the
family.

Yeah, so if the picture is by McNichol,
a Canadian link would make sense.

There is a Pine Coffin family in
England, though.

This was their ancestral home for 900
years, this fabulous 26 -bedroom mansion

in Devon.

Well, I mean, that's a potential lead,
isn't it? I wonder if one of the family

can remember it.

What about the back of the picture?

So this is the back of the picture as it
looked like when David bought it.

It's clear that a previous owner has
removed the canvas from its original

support, called a stretcher, and
replaced it with a smaller one.

So anything on the original frame, when
this painting was done, has been lost as

far as we know, and then we're left with
this business of making it smaller.

Yeah, so a turnover, as we call it.

The picture has made smaller in so
doing.

hiding a bit of the signature.

Maybe they're trying to conceal it
deliberately. Maybe they had a sinister

reason. I don't think so.

It's possible that they were just trying
to make the picture fit into a smaller

space. I've even known people make
pictures smaller just to fit into a

I think it could have been just a cheap,
quick -fix solution by someone who

didn't know what they were potentially
dealing with.

So in terms of leads, then, we've got
the type of women of the field and then

this name to investigate, Pine Coffin.

A technical analysis might well help us,
but I also think one of us needs to go

to Canada.

OK, who gets to go?

Rock, paper, scissors.

Damn.

Tough luck, Fiona.

I've come to Canada on the trail of
Helen McNichol, a truly international

artist. She based herself in London, but
it was in Canada.

where she was most highly regarded.

She frequently came home to exhibit her
work and played an important role in

popularising Impressionism in North
America.

Now more celebrated than ever, McNicol's
paintings can be found in almost every

leading gallery in Canada.

A major McNicol exhibition is about to
take place here in Quebec at the Musée

National des Beaux -Arts.

The Pierre Lassonde Pavilion is home to
modern Canadian art, and its namesake is

one of McNichol's biggest collectors.

A Canadian businessman who made his
fortune in gold, Pierre has given me

permission to see a few of his prized
paintings.

How does David's picture compare to
these genuine treasures?

Just look at that.

This windowless room has suddenly become
full of summer.

This one in the middle, I think it's
called Sunny September, is a

useful one to look at.

The first and most recognisable
comparison, in a way, to David's picture

brushstrokes of the background.

These dynamic, conspicuous, colliding
brushstrokes are reminiscent of

Impressionist masters like Monet and
Renoir, as well as Van Gogh.

And it's something I recognise in the
background of David's picture.

This is, at first glance, an
Impressionist painting, but it's not

these figures. There's a solidity about
them. They're quite statuesque.

The combination of the two, the solid
form of the figures and the clatter of

strokes in the background, can also be
found in David's painting.

Another direct comparison to David's
picture is the way that these whites are

done. It's as if the white effervesces.
It shines brighter than is possible.

And you can particularly see it here,
this delightful figure of a child.

Notice how the thick, creamy whites have
been mixed with a glaze of yellow to

make the whites stand out even more.

That same technique is visible in the
white clothing of the main figure in

David's picture.

It really does seem to me that David's
picture comes from the same type of

thought process.

It's being worked by the same type of
brush.

While the stylistic comparison looks
positive, I've hit a roadblock with the

provenance.

The auction house who sold a picture to
David tells us they're unable to shed

any more light on that pine coffin name.

And usually at this stage, we would
consult the catalogue, the official list

an artist's works, to see if there is a
record of David's picture.

But there isn't one for McNicol.

So we'll need to find clues in
McNichol's life story if we're going to

chance of connecting her to David's
picture.

Thankfully, expert help is on hand.

Professor Samantha Burton from the
University of Southern California is a

leading authority and the artist's
biographer.

Ah, Sam, very nice to see you.

Nice to see you too.

Sam has agreed to review our evidence
and offer an opinion on David's picture.

But where do we start?

So Helen McNichol, it sounds like she
was a fascinating woman. What can you

me about her?

She was. So Helen McNichol was from one
of the wealthiest, most prominent

families in Montreal.

She was educated at the Art Association
of Montreal, which was one of the most

prestigious institutions in Canada.

In 1902, McNichol left Canada for
England, where she studied at one of the

progressive schools renowned for its
equal treatment of women.

She continued her art education at the
Slade in London. She travelled a lot,

both back and forth between London and
Canada, and also from London to

in Europe.

McNichol's travels put her in direct
contact with Impressionism, which more

30 years after it had exploded on the
art scene in Paris, continued to be

popular in Europe.

It was a movement McNichol played an
important part in spreading to Canada,

where Impressionism was still relatively
unknown.

It was around this time McNichol met the
British artist Dorothea Sharp, who

became a lifelong friend and companion.

They met in about 1905, 1906. We know
they lived together in London, traveled

together, and they painted together.

They often painted in the same models,
in the same scenes, and they had very,

very similar styles.

Not everything was easy for her.
However, one of the most interesting

about her is that she was deaf.

She became hard of hearing after about a
scarlet fever when she was just a

child. And so this must have presented
challenges to her as well. And the fact

that she was deaf, does that show in
some way the characteristic of her work?

I think it does. I think first and
foremost, Impressionism is such a

rich style.

It's a style that really targets the
senses, right?

There's often a sense of distance.

in her work.

The figures don't look out at the
viewer.

They seem to be really absorbed in their
own world.

Painted in an impressionistic style and
depicting figures set apart, David's

picture fits with McNichol.

But without Provnos, where do we need to
look for evidence?

Sam, you're going to be the person at
the end of this whole process that

whether or not David's picture is or is
not by Helen McNichol.

What do you need to help convince you
that David has bought a Helen McNichol?

I would want to see some kind of
evidence in the exhibition records, you

some kind of connection to a painting
that we know she painted and exhibited

the time.

provenance would also be really
important.

What is the history of the painting?

Where did it come from?

If there was any technical evidence that
could support it, that would be useful.

Well, Sam, I hope we can find some of
that.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to
me.

You're very welcome.

Well, that was a very useful
conversation.

Sam has given us some clear leads to
follow in our investigation, so the

provenance technical analysis.

but also we need to check out her
exhibition history.

David bought the picture in England, but
for what Sam's saying, we need to look

at exhibitions not just in England, but
in Canada as well.

Could there be evidence the picture went
to Canada?

Was it one of the dozens of paintings
shipped back to the McNichol family from

her London studio after she died?

Or did McNicol bring the picture back on
one of her many trips home?

After several days sailing, McNicol
would have made port here in Quebec

The city's skyline is dominated by the
Grand Chateau Fontenac Hotel.

Built in 1893 to emulate a French
castle, I can imagine McNicol staying

here, especially as her father was vice
-president.

of the railway company that built it.

I'm heading to the bar to find out more
from art historian and McNichol scholar

Julie Nash.

Could Julie help establish whether
David's picture ever came back to

When we are looking at a painting
that's...

recently become known. We often turn to
this memorial exhibition that was hosted

in 1925, so just about 10 years after
she passed away.

It was approximately 140 paintings,
mostly from her estate.

They were owned by her family and some
prominent pieces from Montreal

or public collections at the time.

In the catalogue, there are pictures I
recognise, not least Sunny September,

which I saw in the museum. Is there any
mention of... Women of the Fields in

this exhibition.

Unfortunately, there is no Women of the
Fields listed here.

Well, that's depressing.

I mean, what are the other
possibilities?

There are exhibitions that we know she
was a participant in.

As an artist who had independent
financial means, she was frequently

paintings back across the Atlantic to be
exhibited in Canada.

They were annual exhibitions where the
artists would send their most recent,

their most prominent work that they were
proud of.

So, we have a few more exhibitions to
check out for a mention of women of the

field. That reminds me of another
concern I have about David's picture,

title itself.

Could women of the fields be a red
herring?

When this came up for sale, the artist's
name was misspelt, her death date was

wrong. Why shouldn't the title be wrong
as well? Yes, absolutely.

So does this sound to you like a
McNichol title?

Entirely. Typically with McNichol, we
see two types of titles. One that speaks

to her Impressionist style of painting.
So we might see something like sunlight

on the field, sunshine on the field.

And then the other type of title tends
to be purely descriptive, sort of in the

vein of women of the field. So we might
see something like a woman gathering

fruit or picking apples or something.

Okay.

We've got to think Helen McNichol, and
we need a plan.

What's your suggestion?

I would suggest that we look through the
exhibitions and related reviews in

newspapers from the period McNichol was
exhibiting in Canada to see if there's

anything in there that calls to mind
this image.

So turning over a lot more stones, it's
possible there may be a title that might

attach itself to this painting.

Hopefully so.

Back in England, I'm looking for clues
to help us find a new title.

If Women of the Fields is wrong, could
the right title be in the subject of the

painting?

It's a rural scene showing women working
the land, but what exactly are they

doing?

To try and find out, I've come to one of
the world's great gardens, the Royal

Horticultural Society's garden at
Wisley.

Guy Barter is the RHS's chief
horticultural advisor and a sage when it

answering tough questions about
gardening.

Can Guy help identify what the women are
doing in David's picture?

Guy, hello, very nice to see you.

I wanted to show you this painting that
we're investigating, possibly by an

artist called Helen McNichol.

I just wondered what you think...

these girls, these young women are
doing. They're obviously picking

but we couldn't quite work it out.

Yeah, it looks to me like it's what we
call French beans, which are officially

known as Phaseolus vulgaris, and they
appear to be lying on the ground, so it

would be dwarf French beans.

There's all sorts of colours. You can
get purple, speckled, as well as the

ones. But I've not seen yellow before.

It's not that uncommon. We found a
packet of seed in the garden centre.

Oh, yes.

That is what they look like, isn't it?

Where would you expect to find beans
like this grown?

These are the French beans, like a bit
warmer climate than Britain. So I'm

thinking northern France, Belgium,
something like that.

Well, that's interesting, because we
know that Helmut Nickel did paint in

France. And what about the women in the
background?

Well, that's a real puzzle. They appear
to have something laying on the ground,

and the woman in the far distance seems
to be raking the stuff up, and the lady

in the foreground appears to be pulling
something.

And I'm just wondering if it wasn't
flax.

Flax was and is quite widely grown in
northern France and Belgium for the

textile industry.

So you think this...

This brown stalker here, this is her
pulling something out.

Well, it's a fort, if it is flax.

This painting is called Women of the
Fields. We've no idea, to be honest, if

it's the right title or not.

Go on, Guy, take a stab. If you were
going to title this painting, what would

you call it? Oh, I think I'd call it
something prosaic, like Gathering Beans

Flax, or The Flax Rakers and Bean
Gatherer, something like that.

Or you could just call it Midsummer
Harvest, if you want to be poetical.

Well, it's as good a guess as anyone.

Guy, thank you so much. My pleasure.

As the search for a title continues,
I've left Quebec and travelled several

hundred miles west to Toronto.

Not long after David bought the picture,
he contacted Heffel Fine Art Auction

House to enquire about consigning it for
sale.

A leading Canadian auctioneer, they've
seen and sold a lot of McNichol's work.

I'm meeting National Director of Sales,
Daniel Gillette.

Hello. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet
you. At the time, the auction house

on David's request to sell this picture,
and I'm keen to find out why.

So, Daniel, as the leading auctioneer
for selling nickel, what do you look for

when you're trying to authenticate one?

Well, in every case, we look for typical
styles.

We look for typical materials.

We look for provenance and we look for
exhibition history.

And in the case of David's picture?

First of all, the title, Women of the
Field, did not correspond to any known

works in our research to Helen McNichol.

And the image of the back had no
information as to provenance or

The original stretcher is missing, and
that is where...

In many cases, the information that we
would be looking for on the back would

exist. So if one could find that
information, would you be prepared to

reconsider? We would be very, very happy
to review any information available

that's discovered.

With prices for McNichol's work at an
all -time high, it's more important than

ever to find this missing evidence.

So I'm getting the impression that it's
a good time to discover and sell a

McNichol.

McNichol's paintings are very rare to
the market.

There are fewer than 300 known
paintings, including watercolors.

died so young. Because she died so
young. The Canadian art market is

Yes, I would say the moment is good.

I totally understand where Daniel and
Heffels are coming from. I mean, we knew

this from the outset.

This looks like a McNicol, but it's got
no backstory. It's got no provenance, no

exhibition history.

We've got to find that. We've got to
complete this picture.

While Julie Nash trawls exhibition
history for a title that fits, and with

new leads on the Pine Coffin
provenance...

I'm going back over McNichol's early
career.

During her time at the Slade School of
Fine Art, McNichol would have learnt a

number of drawing and painting
techniques.

Could understanding these better support
the case for McNichol painting David's

picture?

I'm going to art school to find out.

We'll do about another ten minutes
without the dressing gown.

Same drawing, same pose.

I've come to Heatherley School of Fine
Art in Chelsea.

A life class like this is something
McNichol would have done regularly,

female and male subjects, a scene in her
early sketches.

Tony Mott is the school's director of
studies.

Well, Tony, thank you for allowing us
into your life drawing class.

We know that Helen McNichol trained in
life drawing. Just watching your

here, would it have been more or less
the same for her?

I think largely yes, but perhaps one
difference is it looks as though the

model was minimally covered.

He had modesty pants, doesn't he?

Can Tony help find any clues that could
link David's picture to McNichol's?

This is the picture that we are looking
at.

Do you look at this and think this is
the work of someone who's academically

trained? Oh, definitely, because I can
see they're aware of the way that colour

changes in the distance, so that's
something that they probably would have

taught. As it goes from the green to the
blue?

Yes, and also they're aware of the way
that the marks with their paintbrush

creates a sense of depth, so there are
larger marks in the foreground and

smaller marks in the background.

And the other thing that comes across
very well is how they can capture an

object like the basket with very few
marks.

So they have great facility.

How do you think a picture like this
would have been painted? Do you think

a studio work or outdoors on plein air?

I don't think that they had three people
motionless in a field with enough time

to paint this picture.

The pose on the left is quite a
difficult one to hold for very long,

over like that. So the chances are it
could have come from a quick drawing and

then elaborated on with paint.

So you think this is something that was
probably done in the studio?

But with inspiration taken from
outdoors, figures that the artist may

quickly sketched? Yes, I think so.

McNichol's sketchbooks include many
studies of people from day to day life.

None that we found match exactly with
the characters in David's picture.

But does Tony see any similarity in
these preparatory sketches?

One thing I do notice is that she seems
to like drawing the back view of people,

where people are doing something.

I think it's a man with a hoe or
something like that.

He's arched over a little bit like this
figure.

There do appear to be similarities
between the hunched -over figures in

picture and the male figures working in
McNichol's sketch.

She obviously liked seeing people...

Doing things. Doing real things, and
often in difficult poses.

Yeah. Well, that is good to hear.

It feels like everything stylistically
is adding up to McNicol.

But does David's picture stand up to
scientific scrutiny?

The painting has arrived at the
Courtauld Institute of Art.

where Head of Conservation Professor
Aviva Burnstock has been subjecting it

forensic examination.

She's getting to grips with the
materials and techniques that the artist

create David's picture.

Could Aviva's findings help establish
whether McNicol painted it?

We're on our way to hear Aviva's
assessment.

Hi Aviva. Hi.

This is David, the owner of the
painting. Hi Aviva. Lovely to meet you.

And it's a while since we've seen your
picture. It's wonderful, isn't it, in

that light?

Yeah, it's nice to see it in raking
light. You can look at the condition of

picture and where the re -stretching has
happened.

With intense light from the side, you
can see the crease where the canvas was

folded over the smaller supporting
frame.

Something that David tried to correct
when he re -stretched it.

All the other edges I managed to flatten
out with some catalogs on. But for some

reason that one didn't want to flatten.

You put catalogs on top of it?

Yeah, it's just solid auction catalogs.
I've got thousands of them.

They're very good for weight.

I'm not sure if that's advised
technique. No, it's not, no.

I was wondering when you restretched the
painting onto the modern stretcher,

whether you noticed these vertical marks
which might indicate that it had been

rolled at some point. I think you're
right, yes.

We know that McNichol transported
canvases to and from Canada.

Rolling a number of them together might
have been more practical on a long

journey.

So could these marks have been caused by
McNichol herself?

It's a tantalising thought.

But I'm hoping comparison with a genuine
McNichol in Canada can link David's

picture more directly to the artist.

I've driven an hour south -west of
Toronto.

to the art gallery of Hamilton to see
McNichol's The Apple Gatherer.

Depicting a young woman harvesting fruit
that's also stylistically similar, I'm

looking for other parallels to David's
picture.

The gallery has agreed to have The Apple
Gatherer analysed by a team of

conservators from Toronto Art
Restoration.

I'm hoping science can reveal more, and
sampling this genuine work will enable

us to understand McNichol's working
methods and uncover any idiosyncrasies.

I'm meeting head conservator Alicia
Coutts to hear what they've found.

So what observations have you made about
this canvas that might help us?

Well, the artist might have prepared the
canvas herself.

or she might have had a commercially
primed canvas.

But either way, it's been primed all the
way to the edge, and then it's been cut

before she starts painting on it, rather
than stretching the canvas and priming

it. We measured the thread count.

We're looking at 8 vertical by 10
horizontal.

Those are the threads that make up the
canvas per centimetre square. This

detail... is something we can use to
compare with David's picture.

Okay, so what about the paint itself?
Because, you know, Nicole seems very

conspicuous in the thickness and clarity
of her paint.

Well, one thing that we've been looking
at with our UV light is these hot pinks

that are coming up in different areas,
not just in the face.

but in kind of localized areas
throughout the impasto as well. Yeah,

Can you see them? They really shine out.
They do. That fluorescing hot pink is

significant of a red lake pigment.

A red lake pigment. A red lake pigment.
Which is what exactly?

It's a transparent pigment. So normally
artists are going to use red lakes.

um in glazes and you use it to build up
luminosity in the paint in some way okay

so it it it lies on the surface exactly
but the way that mcnichol has

used it in this case is quite
unconventional yes she is using it that

to warm some of her highlights and some
of her shadows but in other areas the

red light pigment is mixed in right with
the other colors

McNicol has used the Red Lake pigment in
a traditional manner as a glaze in the

face and hands to give them a rosy glow,
but more unusually, also mixed it with

other colours, like in the patch of
ground beneath the tree.

It is a unique trait of this artist, so
I'd say that if you were looking at

other paintings, I think it is something
that she did.

Back in London.

Aviva has received this vital new
information.

Does David's picture have
characteristics that match the apple

So in terms of the canvas, the warp and
weft of it, how does that compare to a

known Helen McNichol? Interestingly,
it's exactly the same as the canvas

produced. Yeah, 8 by 10 warp and weft. I
like the apple.

It's commercially primed canvas that
would have been bought off a roll. So it

quite interesting that two paintings
have the same canvas weave.

Could David's painting have come from
the same cut of canvas as the apple

gatherer?

An intriguing thought.

But Aviva has something even more
illuminating to reveal under ultraviolet

light.

You can see bright pink.

Fluorescent areas.

That's almost day glow, though, isn't
it? Really bright fluorescent, so it's

some kind of organic lake pigment. And
you can see it in the flesh paint in

particular and the shadows. It's really
electric.

Certainly other artists will have used
the pigment. It was probably available

commercially. But to use it specifically
like this would be quite unusual.

For the flesh paint, but also other
areas and highlights in the composition,

the background and the mid -ground, this
is quite specific.

So when it comes to this... lake
pigment.

How does that compare with the picture
in Canada?

Well, the comparable painting in Canada,
you can see very similar use of this

brightly fluorescing pink lake pigment.

So that is certainly looking very
promising.

Can I sit down for a minute?

Well, that was so encouraging.

The technical analysis has really come
up trumps, I think, for David's picture.

The canvas has exactly the same weave.

And then the use of the red lake
pigment. I mean, that is idiosyncratic.

unusual.

But crucially, it's the same pigment
used in the same way on a known Helen

McNichol, the apple gatherer.

It's not conclusive proof, but it looks
really good.

Back in Canada, whispers that we might
be investigating a potential Helen

McNichol have spread.

The billionaire collector, Pierre
Lassonde, whose collection I saw in

wants to know more about David's
picture.

He's requested we meet at his home in
Toronto.

Well, well, well. So glad to meet you.
Me too.

Yes, please, come on in.

Pierre has the largest private
collection of McNichols in the world,

one of her most celebrated works, The
Chintz Sofa.

He paid 888 ,000 Canadian dollars, over
half a million pounds.

So, Pierre, this, am I right in
thinking, is the record price for a

by McNichol? Yeah, it is.

It is, and I'm the fortunate individual
who paid it.

Along with the rest of Pierre's
collection, the chintz sofa will soon be

to Quebec as part of the upcoming major
McNicol exhibition.

And Pierre has a plan for the
collection's long -term future, too.

I have more McNicol than all of the
museum in the world.

Think about this, OK? Like, does that
make sense?

No. This collection should be in the
public world, and it will be

gifted at some point. So that's more
than likely where it's going to end up.

So as the world's biggest collector of
nickel, you've obviously seen a lot.

Would you mind if we showed you ours?

I would love to see it.

So, first response.

Wow.

Wow.

Composition.

Incredible. The colors, that purple,
that's so much mechanical, that purple

right here.

Everything speaks mechanical here.
Everything.

Beautiful. It's absolutely gorgeous.

Well, you're speaking, I have to say,
with great conviction because we have

to prove it.

So I'm going to ask you directly, would
you, if all the evidence was there in

place, wish to add this to your
collection?

Without a doubt.

Without a doubt, absolutely.

But I would have, number one, to see it,
and number two, get a provenance.

Like, I want to know where it came from,
okay?

And then number three, you know, we'd
have to talk Turkey, we'd have to talk

price.

Okay, well, that's given us a lot to
think about.

Of course, it does occur to me that
David's discovery could end up as part

The National Collection of Canada, if
indeed you gift your collection by the

sounds of it you intend.

Yeah, more than likely, I would say.

Well, it's going to make our job all the
more pressing to try and prove what

this was called, where it might have
been.

Good. Terrific.

This is a fir.

Before we even got to the finishing
line, there is a buyer waiting in the

But like any collector, He wants to know
where David's picture came from.

Without provenance, David may struggle
to sell it.

Back from Canada, I'm keen to catch up
with Fiona.

So it really feels we're getting warmer,
but we're still lacking documented

history. Well, remember that name, I'm
sure you've not forgotten it, Pine

Coffin, that we saw in the provenance?

Well, no -one from the family has any
recollection of the painting.

But there was an artist in the family
who was painting around the same time as

Helen Mitnickle. She was called Norma.
She lived in Exeter. She exhibited in

London. She might have known Helen
Mitnickle, perhaps.

I mean, given how unusual that name,
Pine Coffin, is, it must be worth

out. And then the name of the painting,
remember?

Women of the Field.

Now, there's no record of Helen
Mitnickle having painted a picture

of the Field.

I mean, what do we think is going on in
this picture?

Well, I mean, harvesting, picking
something.

Picking something. Well, that's the
thing. So having spoken to someone who

about plants, yellow French beans,
that's the best guess.

And in fact, look, I've got from here,
there's a seed packet with yellow French

beans in.

And do you see?

They do look just like that.

I can see exactly what you mean. You
know, there's very clear swipes of...

Bright pigment.

I mean, that's brilliant.

Have you spilt the beans, as it were, to
Julie Nash in Canada?

Like what you did there? Well, yes. We
have spoken to Julie Nash, and she had a

look through Helen McNichol records, and
she did have a painting called The Bean

Harvest.

And it was exhibited in Canada five
times between 1912 and

1913.

But no -one knows where it is now.

I mean, this is potentially fantastic.

But then how does a picture that is
exhibited within an inch of its life in

Canada then end up over here?

Well, we found out after a bit of
digging that Helen McNichol did exhibit

England just a few months before her
death in 1915.

And the painting she exhibited was The
Bean Harvest.

And where was it exhibited?

Just up the road at the Royal Academy.

Which is where we need to go next.

In January 1915, the Royal Academy
staged the War Relief Exhibition.

It was held a few months into the First
World War to raise money for the Red

Cross and St John Ambulance Society.

It had royal patronage, and there were
over 800 exhibits.

But crucially for us, it included one
submission from Helen McNichol, the Bean

Harvest.

It was one of the last paintings
McNichol exhibited before her untimely

from diabetes in June of the same year.
By then, she'd amassed an impressive

exhibition record of more than 70 works
in Britain and Canada.

The question is, is the bean harvest and
David's picture one and the same?

So, David, this is the exhibition
catalogue, War Relief Exhibition.

And what I'd like you to do is turn to
page 17.

And then I want you to look at 2, 4, 1.

Oh, my God, yes.

The bean harvest, that works very well.

Helen McNichol, RBA.

A painting of this subject is not yet
accounted for.

So there's a nice little sort of bean
-shaped hole that possibly yours could

into. Yeah, it would be nice.

The bean harvest must have been a
special painting for McNicol, exhibited

times in Canada, then shipped over to
England to exhibit here at this

exhibition. But unfortunately, this
catalogue has no photographs or

of the exhibits.

so we can't be 100 % sure that it is
David's picture.

But a tantalising link to another artist
has been found by the librarians here.

They've given me a catalogue from 1914.

I would like you just to turn your eye
to a

reference to... Oh, yes, yes.

N .P. Coffin, The Call of the Wild.

Norma Pinecoffin was an artist in the
early years of the 20th century.

So we have a woman artist exhibiting
only a few months before

Helen McNicol exhibited at this same
revered institution.

It's tempting to imagine that Helen
McNicol and Norma Pinecoffin attended

of these exhibitions, that they met...

and even that the bean harvest passed
from one to the other.

This could be the final missing link
connecting David's picture to the pine

coffin provenance.

So how are you feeling about the chances
of the painting now? I think you've

done wonderful. I mean, really, what you
found, I think there's hope there.

I really do.

Following this latest discovery, we're
feeling pretty confident that David's

picture is the missing McNicol exhibited
as the bean harvest.

With no single authority recognised to
authenticate McNicol, we've asked

Professor Samantha Burton for an expert
opinion based on professional

photographs and our dossier of evidence.

A few days later...

We received a reply.

I think we're in a really strong
position.

The picture looks like a McNicol.
Everyone agrees.

The canvas maps is that of a known
McNicol.

And that idiosyncratic use of Red Lake
pigment is exactly the same.

We have come across the title of a lost
picture that fits. The Bean Harvest.

And not only that, but a richly
exhibited work in Canada and up the road

the Royal Academy.

We may also have made sense of that pine
coffin provenance.

The question is, is it enough to swing
it?

as a genuine McNichol.

Hello, David.

Hi there.

Lovely to meet you again.

Nice to see you.

And nice to see your painting. Yeah,
lovely.

So this is it.

I've got the verdict here.

I'm frightened of it, honestly.

There's quite a lot riding on it.

Yeah, absolutely.

It's been a little while since we
started this investigation.

And I would feel bad asking you this at
this point.

If this is by Helen McNichol, what kind
of value are we talking about?

So in the case of Helen McNichol, we're
dealing with a rare artist.

There are about 300 works recorded by
her. And if you compare that to one of

fathers of Impressionism, like Monet,
for whom there are 2 ,000 works, you

realise what a key thing it is to be
able to potentially add another. It

also be the only painting which she
exhibited.

up the road at the Royal Academy.

Yes. I think we could be talking about a
valuation of £300 ,000 and some.

But I've got to add, though, of course,
if it's not, what did you pay for it?

£2 ,500.

You may be lucky and get your money
back.

Shall I open this? OK.

OK, here we go. Here we go.

Emotional.

Oh, you're making a tear to my eye now
as well, my goodness. Well done, well

done, well done. So grateful for all
your work.

Wonderful.

Not only does Sam believe that David's
picture is by Helen McNichol, but she

agrees it probably is the missing bean
harvest.

The subject matters and the style of the
painting looks very similar to others

he created at this stage of her career.

Just wonderful.

To add.

something through our work.

How thrilled are you?

Very.

Tears of happiness, I hope.

Absolutely.

What do you want to happen to this
painting? When we met you first, you

thought you'd sell it.

I'm thinking, yes, I need to sell it.

I'm negotiating two or three flights of
stairs at the moment.

Yes, I'm not...

Not in the best of health.

So this might facilitate you buying
something else? Hopefully, yeah.

Somewhere on one level. On one level.

So it really is life -changing then? It
is, absolutely, yes.

That life -changing moment may be
getting closer.

The billionaire collector Pierre
Lassonde has flown in from Toronto.

He's come to see David's picture in
person.

Well, this is a first for us. We have an
owner who wants to sell a painting and

we have a potential buyer coming all the
way over from Canada to see it for

himself. I mean, it's about as exciting
as it gets.

Having met Pierre, he's a... A serious
collector, as serious as you get.

And he likes his McNichols.

It's going to be fascinating to see what
happens.

If Pierre likes what he sees, will he
make David an offer he can't refuse?

David is on his way back to the gallery
to hear Pierre's thoughts.

Hello, David. Hello there.

David, could I introduce Pierre Lafonte?

It's very nice to meet you. Very nice to
meet you.

You're the man of the hour.

So you saw an image of it with Philip,
and now you're seeing it in the flesh. I

mean, what do you think about it?

But, you know, she's done it again. It's
beautiful.

It really is magnificent.

So as the biggest collector of nickel,
how do you rate this?

To be very candid, I would put it at
like a 9 out of 10.

You've given it a 9 out of 10. That
sounds like a high score, wouldn't you

David? It sounds like it.

You know what?

For a painting that's been missing for
110 years, I think it's fantastic.

I think your discovery was absolutely,
you know, like, fantastic.

wouldn't mind adding one more piece to
my collection.

They're all going to end up in a museum
anyway.

I mean, you know, like we're only the
temporary guardian of these

Well, look, it sounds to me like you
need to have a private conversation away

from the cameras.

Whatever you decide, I'm glad that
you've met and let us know what the

is. Okay, will do.

Okay, thank you so much.

Pierre made an offer.

And David is now considering his
options.

There isn't a world in which former
small -time art dealer David from

would meet billionaire art collector
Pierre Lassonde from Canada were it not

this painting and their mutual love of
Helen McNicol.

There's clearly more to come.

I'm just so happy for David. He went in
there with his...

£2 ,500,

you know, big bet, and has discovered a
treasure. It just shows it's still

possible.

If you think you have an undiscovered
masterpiece or other precious object,

contact us at bbc .co .uk slash sake or
fortune.