Art on "Hawaii Five-0"

"Fatata te Miti" Paul Gauguin (The original is in The National Gallery, Washington, DC)

Here is an interesting find! Netflix is showing four episodes from a BBC One series entitled Fake or Fortune. It involves using detective work, including forensic science, to determine whether works of art are authentic.

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Two of the artists, Paul Gauguin and JMW Turner, had parts in “How to Steal a Masterpiece” (Season 7). The Gauguin, Fatata te Miti, of course, was the stolen masterpiece under investigation in the episode. An unnamed Turner was used as an example by art reporter Evvy Bernstein (Danielle) as she and McGarrett discussed art forgeries and enjoyed cones of orange sherbet near the Natatorium. It seemed that the self-serving art appraiser Durkin (George Voskovec) had forged that one, too!

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Check out the series. It’s fascinating to see how provenance is, first, established and then tracked to prove the authenticity of a painting. McGarrett and Evvy discussed the steps during their walk in the park.