Tom Roberts is considered one of Australia’s most important artists, a pioneer of Australian Impressionism whose works commands hundreds of thousands of pounds. After a fierce bidding war via a U.K. auction website, an Australian couple bought the painting, shipped it back to Brisbane and presented it to a leading expert on the artist’s work – only to be told that it was not genuine. The owners’ unhappiness with the verdict has been compounded by personal business difficulties that make it more important than ever to prove that their hunch was right. Our series experts believe some of the answers to the mystery lie in Roberts’ time in England, where he trained at the Royal Academy in the 1880s. The quest for further proof takes them to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Can they find enough evidence to earn the painting a second hearing?

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