Art experts are searching for an eBay user that purchased a canvas for £3,000 in an online auction back in 2006. The painting, which depicts a couple eating oysters and drinking Champagne, was recently revealed to be an authentic work by the French Impressionist painter Édouard Vuillard. The canvas is estimated to be worth £250,000.
The discovery was made after experts on the BBC antiques program, Fake or Fortune, appraised a painting owned by a writer named Keith Tutt. Tutt had purchased the work, which was later revealed to be an authentic Vuillard painting, at an auction for a minimal amount. Robert Warren, the art dealer who sold the canvas to Tutt, stated that it had been one of a pair and that he had sold the other on eBay but could not remember who purchased it.
Fiona Bruce, co-host of Fake or Fortune, said, “We've done all the forensic and investigative work to prove it's genuine, now we just need to find the owner and tell them the good news. Someone, somewhere in the world is sitting on a fortune."