This Part 'The Clairvoyant Picture', is based upon the true theft of Munch’s ‘The Scream of Nature’ and is set in the 1990’s. It was written in 2002 and tells the story of how a painting called ’The Art Thieves’ gained its epithet ‘The Clairvoyant Picture’.
A gang of forgers is at work leaving a trails of counterfeit currency in the wake of a touring jazz band, and these are investigated by a pair of unlikely detectives. An artist, Sarah Seymour, is trained by a retired professional artist working from her shop and, after she marries Peter Standish, she paints ‘The Art Thieves’ showing art theft in progress. The picture contains two optical illusions and goes on show. It is a big hit with the public, but some months later the painting is taken by four burglars, following which a ransom demand is made. Work by the unlikely pair of detectives not only discover who the forgers so and their works are raided, but also leads to the recovery of the stolen picture before the ransom has to be paid. It goes on show again to tremendous acclaim, the media giving it the epithet ‘The Clairvoyant Picture’.
As a result the picture becomes so popular internationally that a TV company makes a film of its story. This greatly increases the interest in it, and the Gallery showing it soon finds it is unable to cope with the demand. As a result a new Art Gallery is built for just for the picture. All the attention makes the artist wealthy so Sarah and Peter buy a stately home, Oddsmore Hall. They invite some of her friends to come to live and work in it, and Sarah is knighted, becoming a Dame. Soon afterwards she gives birth to a son, George.
A gang of forgers is at work leaving a trails of counterfeit currency in the wake of a touring jazz band, and these are investigated by a pair of unlikely detectives. An artist, Sarah Seymour, is trained by a retired professional artist working from her shop and, after she marries Peter Standish, she paints ‘The Art Thieves’ showing art theft in progress. The picture contains two optical illusions and goes on show. It is a big hit with the public, but some months later the painting is taken by four burglars, following which a ransom demand is made. Work by the unlikely pair of detectives not only discover who the forgers so and their works are raided, but also leads to the recovery of the stolen picture before the ransom has to be paid. It goes on show again to tremendous acclaim, the media giving it the epithet ‘The Clairvoyant Picture’.
As a result the picture becomes so popular internationally that a TV company makes a film of its story. This greatly increases the interest in it, and the Gallery showing it soon finds it is unable to cope with the demand. As a result a new Art Gallery is built for just for the picture. All the attention makes the artist wealthy so Sarah and Peter buy a stately home, Oddsmore Hall. They invite some of her friends to come to live and work in it, and Sarah is knighted, becoming a Dame. Soon afterwards she gives birth to a son, George.
