The BBC has announced its new prime time television series presented by Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce.  Currently titled 'Sleuth', the four programmes will each feature an unidentified work of art and film the pair as they try to establish its history, its authenticity and its true value. The series is scheduled for the Autumn on BBC1.

News Item Posted: February 1 2010

A self-portrait by Sir Anthony Van Dyck has been acquired by the gallery for a record price of £8.4 million. Van Dyck painted the self-portrait in the last months of his life. The painting had remained in the possession of the same family, that of the Earls of Jersey, for almost 300 years. It had previously belonged to the artist Sir Peter Lely, one of Van Dyck's successors as the leading artist of the Stuart royal court.

The price for the portrait breaks the previous record for a work by Sir Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641) of £3 million, and sets a new record for a British 17th Century portrait.

News Item Posted: January 7 2010

Prince Charles or Prince Henry?

La Tour’s fine pastel portrait that hangs in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery has, until recently, been upheld as the ‘official’ portrait of the Scottish hero Bonnie Prince Charlie.  But the Gallery has now changed the identification following research by Bendor Grosvenor. The first step towards unravelling the mystery was the purchase by Philip Mould Ltd in 2008 of ‘Portrait of a Cardinal’ (illustrated left).  Further research led us to conclude that the face had been copied from La Tour's pastel, and that the sitter in that portrait was in fact Charles’s younger brother Henry, later the Cardinal of York.  The Scottish National Portrait Gallery has now announced: ‘We have reassessed our own position and, on balance, accept that it is more likely that our pastel depicts Prince Henry Benedict, and not his elder brother.’

News Item Posted: December 15 2009

SILHOUETTE
The Art of the Shadow

Written by Emma Rutherford, with a foreword by Lulu Guinness

Published October 2009 by Rizzoli

Elegant and enigmatic, the silhouette is the simplest of art forms, but that simplicity belies a rich and varied past. In this first major work on the art of the silhouette, art historian Emma Rutherford draws from dozens of American and European sources to create a fascinating history of the art form, and to illuminate the compelling social history hidden behind it.

News Item Posted: November 13 2009

Sir Joshua Reynolds: The Acquisition of Genius

This hitherto unknown self-portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds, painted when he was 50, will be included in the forthcoming exhibition on the artist at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery this autumn.  

From humble beginnings as the son of a village school master, Reynolds went on to become one of Britain's finest and most fashionable portrait painters and a founder of the Royal Academy.

21 November 2009 - 20 February 2010

News Item Posted: October 2 2009

SLEUTH: The Amazing Quest for Lost Art Treasures

Philip Mould’s new book, SLEUTH, is available from the gallery or order through our website.

“Everyone who loves history must salute Philip Mould for his brilliant research
which has resulted in so many daring discoveries”’ – Lady Antonia Fraser

“Philip Mould is an arch sleuth with an uncanny ability to unearth lost art”.
The numerous portraits and paintings he has been responsible for bringing
back to life … represent a significant addition to historical evidence and
understanding” – David Starkey

News Item Posted: May 29 2009