Where: The Wilson, Cheltenham

When: Until October 15, 2017

A unique exhibition inspired by the Sky Arts TV show Fake! The Great Masterpiece Challenge has opened at The Wilson in Cheltenham.

Fake: The Great Reveal aims to challenge the way people look at art - what is a fake and how does the art world go about spotting them? How do authorities attempt to police a global art market worth over £56 billion a year?

Last summer Sky Arts switched priceless masterpieces for specially-made copies at art galleries and museums around the UK and challenged members of the public to see whether they could find the fakes among a group of original paintings.

Picture: Giles Coren, artist and copyist Anne Wright and Peter Harkness, Chair of the Cheltenham Trust, at the exhibition opening

All seven of the paintings produced for the national competition will be on display in Cheltenham until October 15. Visitors can see the 'fake' paintings and one original from the hit series, presented by Giles Coren and art historian Rose Balston, brought together for the first time.

The fakes have been painted by leading copyists including John Myatt, the art forger behind what Scotland Yard called 'the biggest art fraud of the 20th century'.

Columnist, author and restaurant critic Giles Coren, who opened the exhibition, said: "Filming the series gave me an astonishing window into the skills, tricks and tactics of master copyists who need staggering chutzpah as well as considerable talent to execute apparently identical copies of the great works of art.

"I'm delighted that members of the public can now see the paintings produced for the series in person for the first time at this one-off exhibition on display at The Wilson this summer."

Julie Finch CEO of The Cheltenham Trust, which manages The Wilson, said: "There is something about the 'art' of a forger which fascinates people and the Trust is delighted to be able to bring this one-off exhibition to Cheltenham which we think will prove really popular coming from a Sky Arts TV series to have a second life at The Wilson.

"We're hoping this exhibition will bring in people who wouldn't ordinarily think about coming to an art gallery, as well as those with a deeper knowledge of the art world."

The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of activities and talks throughout the summer and autumn including a talk from curator and author Riah Pryor on her book Crime and the Art Market (Lund Humphries, 2016) drawing on her unique experience of having worked as an art market journalist and researcher at New Scotland Yard's Art and Antiques Unit.

In the 'Play-giarise' area families and visitors can also have fun creating their own forgeries.

The Wilson is open from 9.30am to 5.15pm and later on Thursdays until 7.45pm. Tickets to the exhibition cost £5. For more details, visit www.cheltenhammuseum.org.uk