The Art Detective, Philip Mould
The Art Detective, Philip Mould
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The Art Detective
Fakes, Frauds, and Finds and the Search for Lost Treasures

Author: Philip Mould

Narrator: James Langton

Unabridged: 7 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/10/2010

Categories: Nonfiction, Art

Synopsis

What separates a masterpiece from a piece of junk? Thanks to the BBC's Antiques Roadshow and its American spin-off, everyone is searching garage sales and hunting online for hidden gems, wondering whether their attics contain trash or treasures. In The Art Detective, Philip Mould, one of the world's foremost authorities on British portraiture and an irreverent and delightful expert for the Roadshow, serves up his secrets and his best stories, blending the technical details of art detection and restoration with juicy tales peopled by a range of eccentric collectors, scholars, forgers, and opportunities.

Each chapter focuses on one particular painting and the mystery that surrounds it. Mould is our trusty detective, tracking down clues, uncovering human foibles, and following hunches until the truth is revealed. Mould is known for his ability to crack the toughest puzzles, and whether he's writing about a fake Norman Rockwell, a hidden Rembrandt, or a lost Gainsborough, he brings both the art and the adventure to life. The Art Detective is memoir, mystery, art history, and brilliant yarn all rolled into one.

About Philip Mould

Philip Mould appears regularly on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow and hosted the Channel 4 series Changing Faces, about the evolution of portraiture. Known as "the art detective," he owns a gallery in London, is the art adviser to the British House of Commons and House of Lords, and even sold a painting to the Queen. He lives in London wih his wife and son and is turning parts of his book The Art Detective into a major multipart prime-time television series.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Lance on March 28, 2015

When you go to a car dealer, you can be reasonably sure that Toyota or BMW or Ford is, indeed, a Toyota or BMW or Ford. The dealer doesn't have to trace the VIN through the whole supply chain back to the factory to confirm the nameplate's legit. Simple. Not so much for buying art. Rembrandt didn't pu......more

Goodreads review by Ed on July 03, 2010

As an art freak I enjoyed this book. The episodes were of varying interest to me, what I found most fascinating was the "bad restorer" problem. Say you have a 17th century masterpiece but with a bit of damage. Now if you were clever, you could just paint the damaged areas. But that takes an annoying......more

Goodreads review by Mauri on May 11, 2018

Four and a half stars for not being able to put it down, for being well-structured, and for above all being fascinating. Mould walks the reader through the world of expensive art deals, from discovering paintings rotting away in barns to forgeries to slogging through fields to find the exact site wh......more

Goodreads review by Lukieg on June 23, 2022

Very entertaining investigation into art secrets and lost treasures. The author is completely up his own ass of course but he’s got enough posh British swag to justify it......more

Goodreads review by Zoë on January 27, 2024

I have a lot of thoughts as somebody who studied art history and archaeology and also somebody who has seen every single episode of fake or fortune and let it run my entire covid existence by watching every episode multiple times. I find being an art dealer a fascinating job - I think where I differ......more

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