Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a painting that could be the work of the celebrated artist Sir Edwin Landseer. If it is, they will have rediscovered a much-loved Victorian masterpiece that was thought to have been destroyed by a catastrophic flood almost a century ago.
The painting depicts the terrible aftermath of battle, with fallen soldiers and horses evoking the horror of war. The scene, known as Time of War, was first painted in 1846 by Landseer, the artist who created one of the most iconic images of 19th-century British art, The Monarch of the Glen, and whose lion sculptures still sit proudly in Trafalgar Square today. Landseer was an infant prodigy who became a favourite of Queen Victoria, and he painted the royal family and their beloved pets throughout his life.
The painting is owned by Kathy and Barry Romeril, who bought it in 1987, when they were still married. Now divorced, the painting has stayed with Kathy at her home in Ascot, while Barry now lives in Florida. The couple first spotted the picture in a sale at Ascot racecourse and had no idea of any connection to Landseer. Kathy explains to Fiona and Philip that she has a love of horses and was moved to tears by the grey horse staring out at her in such a desperate state. She decided there and then that the painting was coming home with her, and she bid £720 to secure it. But if the painting is proven to be a lost national treasure by Landseer, it could be worth as much as £80,000.
The original Time of War hung at the Tate gallery in London and was there in 1928 when the city suffered one of the worst disasters in its history. On the night of 7 January, the Thames burst its banks at Lambeth and crashed through the walls of the Embankment, flooding the houses that lined the river at that time. Fourteen people died, and thousands were left homeless. Water also surged into the lower galleries of the Tate, damaging hundreds of works from the national collection. By all accounts Time of War was destroyed - but was that really the case? Could Kathy and Barry’s picture be the lost Landseer?
Fiona follows the clues through the archives to establish exactly what happened to Landseer’s original painting. It’s a trail with plenty of unexpected twists and turns, including the revelation that other pictures thought to have been destroyed that night most definitely were not. One very notable example is now on display at the National Gallery. Philip, meanwhile, scours the picture itself for evidence that this is the hand of Landseer. As he casts his expert eye over the large canvas, he can see that the painting has unquestionably been damaged in the past. Could it be evidence of the Tate flooding? The investigation gathers pace, and the evidence is presented, but will it be enough to prove that Kathy and Barry’s picture is a long-lost national treasure?
