The forgery is a copy of a Chagall's <i>Reclining Nude 1911</i>.
For two decades, Martin Lang enjoyed what he thought was a Marc Chagall masterpiece hanging in the hallway of his family home.
Lang, a no-nonsense Yorkshire businessman, had bought the painting in 1992 for £100,000 and while he adored the work, he also expected to see a return one day
on his investment.
This week the painting - to Lang's horror - will be burned in Paris in the presence of a French magistrate. The Chagall Committee, a group of experts including two of the artist's granddaughters, and which is the sole authenticator of his work, has declared the painting a fake and ordered its destruction to deter other forgers.
Lang is exasperated and the saga highlights the risks for art enthusiasts investing without proof their money is being spent on the genuine article.
The story began in the 1990s when Lang, now 63, and his wife Jackie, 53, moved into a manor house on the outskirts of Leeds. They hired an interior designer, and began looking for art to hang on its walls. They were offered Nude 1909-1910, a relative snip at £100,000.
