- What defines a masterpiece: the fact that a renowned artist created it, or the merits of the work itself? Ben and Maggie are thrilled by the discovery of a possible 16th-century Bronzino--but the owner inherited the painting under suspicious circumstances.—Anonymous
- This episode introduces the main characters: Ben Glazier [played by Richard Wilson], the old European paintings specialist; Maggie Perowne [head of the European paintings department]; Lord Holloway, chairman, formerly head of a grocery chain; Nick Roper [played by Michael Siberry], the slightly dodgy young man in the Fine Wines department, and Camilla Mounsey [played by Marsha Fitzalan], who is arm candy to Lord Holloway. They are all part of the staff at Klingsky's, a London auction house -- likely modeled after Sotheby's or its ilk.
The episode begins with Maggie Perowne auctioning a Raphael portrait that is expected to bring at least £5 Million but sells for only £1 Million due to the auction-room finagling of a competing art dealer. Apparently at cross-purposes, an old art restorer, Peter Pomfret, is dying. After the disappointing auction and the death of the art restorer, Pomfret's assistant, Sarah Napper, brings a packet of art into Klingskey's to sell, including a painting on slate that catches Ben Glazier's eye. Both Glazier and Perowne recognize the painting as being incredibly similar to a famous allegory by Bronzino that hangs in the National Gallery.
Glazier and Perowne work on documenting the painting's "provenance" -- the documentation that supports the claims that a work was done by a particular artist and at the right time period. They visit Sarah Napper and appear to astonish her with the possibility that it was painted by Bronzino, and she is so overwhelmed with the notion that she gives Perowne one of her own paintings in appreciation. Perowne, having very refined tastes in art, terms it as lifeless and puts it in the trash at her flat, where it's seen by Nick Roper, with whom Perowne is having an on-again, off-again affair. They are later interrupted at an inopportune moment by a phone call from Glazier, who has found some indications that a Bronzino had been in the collection of "Lord Saltery". Nick Roper appears to find this information secretly interesting.
John Gielgud has a small pair of scenes where he plays an art expert brought in by Glazier and gives Glazier some assurance that the painting in question might well be genuine and gives every indication of having been quite smitten with Glazier in earlier days. Glazier, who lusts after Perowne, rebuffs the art expert as he clearly has in the past. On the drive down to the stately pile belonging to Lord Saltery, Glazier gives a small discussion of his back story -- son of a Glasgow policeman ["copper"] who discovered art by accident when a sudden downpour drove him and his parents into the National Gallery when he was twelve.
When Glazier and Perowne arrive at the home of the present Lord Saltery, they must assure him that they are not part of the public [whom Lord Saltery complains are only interested in tea and lavatories and -- how gauche -- notice a fellow's possessions] and then, when they are ushered into the library, they find Nick Roper already having gone through the library's papers on the art. He assures that there is nothing in the documents to indicate that the Bronzino was in the family's collection.
Roper has, however, found documents that indicate that the Bronzino was in Lord Saltery's family collection and that it was sent to Peter Pomfret years earlier for restoration work. The family art manager had apparently been fired and the family simply failed to notice that the Bronzino wasn't there anymore. Roper takes Sarah Napper out for champagne and proposes to forget what he's found [which would give the painting back to the present Lord Saltery and give Roper no benefit at all] and suggests that he and Sarah Napper split the proceeds of the auction. Sarah Napper rebuffs him and then rebuffs Perowne when she comes to see Sarah Napper with the news that their scientific examination supports the attribution to Bronzino. She tells both of them that she actually painted the work in question. She also tells boasts to Perowne that Roper had offered to go splits with her on the painting -- leading Perowne to refuse to let Roper into her apartment when he shows up at a later time with bottles of champagne.
A robbery next door to Pomfret's studio brings the police to question Sarah Napper, but her prickly conscience about Pomfret's death [it appears that she didn't give him his medicine because she thought he should have gone into the hospital rather than staying at home to abuse her] causes her to bolt from the studio and be killed in a collision with a bus.
The painting is sold as "the property of Lord Saltery" for £15 Million and Glazier takes Maggie Perowne to a tea dance in Bayswater.
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What is the broadcast (satellite or terrestrial TV) release date of The Fatal Attribution (1994) in Australia?
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