Liverpudlians have best eye for an artistic fake, TV show suggests
THE residents of Merseyside have the best eye for spotting a fake painting as 70 per cent correctly guessed forgeries for anewartsshow.
Research for the show revealed that animal and portrait paintings were the easiest fakes to identify but landscapes left sleuthing visitors stumped.
Millions of pounds’ worth of British masterpieces were swapped for forged copies at museums across the country.
It was part of a challenge for new TV show Fake! The Great Masterpiece Challenge, starring critic Giles Coren and art historian Rose Balston.
Eagle-eyed gallery visitors have been using their detective skills to spot the seven counterfeits hiding in plain sight on the walls of six galleries in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London and Manchester throughout July.
At the halfway point, Liverpool locals have had the best hit rate, with 70 per cent correctly guessing the imposters among the 18th and 19th-century animal paintings at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery and nearly 60 per cent spotting the fake Golden Age English Portrait at Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight, Wirral.
Proving Britons never forget a face, 41 per cent also correctly uncovered the fake portrait in The Stuart Courts display at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.
But just nine per cent have pinpointed the fake LS Lowry or Adolphe Valette urban landscape at Manchester Art Gallery, while only 14 per cent have pegged the forgery among masters such as JMW Turner and Richard Wilson at the National Museum Cardiff.
At Guildhall Art Gallery in London, only 16 per cent have found the hidden fraud among scenes of Victorian life.
Phil Edgar-Jones, director of Sky Arts, said: “People are really getting up close to these wonderful paintings and having fun discovering the joysofBritishartists.”
Guesses are submitted on the skyartsfake.com.
The competition is open to all ages, and those who correctly guess the most fakes will compete to win a fake of their own at the final in Oxfordinthenewyear.