Frances Hodgkins painting worth over $100,000 uncovered by BBC show

Wednesday, 6 August 2025

A BBC show has uncovered the true value of a painting by noted NZ artist Frances Hodgkins after its owner picked it up for a steal at an auction.

A British man who bought a painting for $78 (or £35) has discovered it is worth over $100,000 after art experts from the BBC launched a global investigation to prove it was by NZ painter Frances Hodgkins.

The discovery was made on the BBC documentary series Fake or Fortune, hosted by Antiques Roadshow host Fiona Bruce, which screens in NZ on Sky Arts.

Art blogger Robjn Cantus bought the painting from an auction in 2019, when Hertfordshire County Council were selling off paintings from the Pictures for Schools scheme.

The scheme bought modern British art to lend to schools and 'give children artwork that was inspiring to look at'.

The painting was bought in a sale for £35 (NZ$78).

Cantus was writing a book about the scheme at the time and shared an image on his blog of the painting, which he initially believed was by artist Vera Cunningham, a British painter whose works do not command a great deal at auction.

But then an eagle-eyed viewer contacted Cantus to say they thought the unsigned work was by Kiwi artist Frances Hodgkins.

Hodgkins made a career in the UK after leaving New Zealand in 1906, and was considered an important modernist artist.

Her art could be founds in museums and galleries worldwide, and a Hodgkins watercolour sold for $312,000 in 2021.

Cantus said he initially thought it was painted by a schoolchild, with Bruce agreeing the modernist work was “hard to love”.

But Cantus admitted he liked the painting a lot more when he heard it could be by Hodgkins.

Art dealer Philip Mould, the co-host of the show, originally estimated the work could be worth over $60,000 if its provenance could be proven.

Mary Kisler delivered her verdict to the team.

The Fake or Fortune team then launched a probe across the UK and called in the services of New Zealand experts to discover if the painting was a Hodgkins original.

Cantus admitted to the BBC that he stopped thinking about the investigation when it was completed and “cycled back from London with it in a Primark bag”.

But when he was called back to meet with team it was confirmed - the painting was indeed an important part of NZ art history.

Frances Hodgkins expert Mary Kisler was beamed in from Auckland to deliver the news.

“I emphatically think it is by Frances Hodgkins,” she revealed.

Mould said Kisler’s verdict meant the painting could be worth $100,000.

Bruce said the painting was “the find of a lifetime” after its value was revealed but Cantus says he plans to keep the painting and display it at home “as I would probably would be unlikely to afford one ever again”.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article said the value was $60,000. (Amended: 6 August, 2025, 12.30pm)