by A BBC show Fake or Fortune has been accused of devaluing an artwork by a famous British painter by questioning its basis for “drama and tension”.
Ben Nicholson painted the mural on his friends bedroom wall as a thank you gift for staying at his home in 1947.
Conservators managed to save the artwork for the current owners of the property in Surrey, removing the plaster it was on in one piece.
The mural was featured on Fake or Fortune in 2022, a BBC program hosted by Fiona Bruce that investigates the origins of significant works of art.
Nicholson’s mural sparked debate on the show before experts decided it was “probably” an informal collaborative piece between the artist and the home’s owner, Fred Staite Murray.
At the end of the episode art expert Philip Mold said it could be between £50,000 and £100,000.
But Lay’s Auctioneers, of Penzance, Cornwall, who are now tasked with selling it, say that the finished mural is a genuine Nicholson original.
They say the 30-by-24in mural has been given an estimate of £80,000 because of the public debate about it.
Comparable Nicholson works have sold for £200,000, leading to suggestions that the BBC may have “devalued” the mural by casting doubt on it for the show.
Mimi Connell-Lay, of Lay’s Auctioneers, said: “As far as we’re concerned it’s definitely a genuine Nicholson piece.
“The whole crux of the program is to ask the yes or no question and create drama and tension. With the back story and the provenance there is no doubt in the art world that it is the work of Ben Nicholson.
“But there was one specialist who said that.
“It’s crazy when you look at the evidence file that the experts on the show provided that they came to the conclusion that it was probably a collaborative piece.
“One of the specialists on the show said they didn’t think Nicholson would have drawn the mandolin that was in the mural that way, but that’s his subjective opinion.”
The auctioneers said Nicholson (1894-1982) stayed at the Surrey home of Fred and Madge Staite Murray in 1947 while he was exhibiting in London.
They had 10 of the St Ives artist’s paintings in their possession and asked if he could borrow five of them for the exhibition, which they agreed.
They believe he probably created the mural to say thank you. The Murrays later preserved it behind a Perspex screen at Red Stream Cottage in Bramley.
Artistic luminaries visited to catch a glimpse of the work, which features his trademark letters, scattered dots and geometric shapes.
After Mr and Mrs Murray died in 1972 and 1991, respectively, their neighbors acted as unofficial custodians of the mural.
Ms Connell-Lay said: “Madge died in 1991. She was remembered by her close neighbors of over 25 years, the Metcalfs.
“Over time, they heard many stories about famous artists and were shown Nicholson’s murals.
“After Madge’s death, they acted as custodians, ensuring the new owners of Red Stream Cottage [Ian and Julie Herrington] they were made aware of the great heritage within their walls.”
Nicholson’s painting was probably a ‘gift’
She added: “In 2022 the work appeared on the BBC’s Fake or Fortune programme.
“Although some of the Nicholson specialists who were consulted for the program felt that the work was a collaboration between Nicholson and Fred, the program’s researchers made a strong case for the mural being by Nicholson alone, a gift to his good friends at the State Murrays. .
“He was not an artist known for collaborating with others and although he was married to one of our best sculptors, Barbara Hepworth, he did not do collaborative artwork with her.
“It is incredible that he would have collaborated with Fred on this mural, and much more plausible that he did it as a gift and as a token of gratitude to the Murray Estates after borrowing so many pictures and decorating their walls leave bare.
“The current owners [the Herringtons] The mural was expertly removed and preserved. It’s a great work from one of the most prominent pioneers of abstract art.
“Looking at recent auction records, a work of this size and date (attributed to Nicholson) could easily sell for anything between £100,000-200,000 or more.”
The BBC said the experts on Fake or Fortune give “their own independent view” of the potential value of the artworks featured on the show.
A BBC spokesman said: “The BBC is not involved in any commercial sales activity on the artworks in the series.
“The valuation given in the program was an estimate of the possible price that the work of art could achieve based on the information available at the time to the experts who examined the work.
“The experts in each program always have their own independent point of view, drawing on their knowledge and expertise.”
The sale will take place on April 11.
