>The grand moment of the reception finally arrived. Two Tate conservators wearing white gloves came in carrying a pair of five-foot-tall paintings jointly titled Spring Woodland. The works were beautifully composed, semiabstract figures resembling birds and vegetation, set against an electric-blue background. Conversation stopped as everyone at the table acknowledged the gifts. There was a moment of respectful silence.

“Ahh, the Bissières, how lovely,” someone said, in a voice barely above a whisper.

Myatt was stunned. He had painted the two “Bissières” himself just two weeks before.