EVERYONE loves stories of rediscovering forgotten artists, finding hidden masterpieces and exposing fake paintings. All three will combine in a lecture at Teesside High School tomorrow.

It will feature the artist Georges de la Tour, and his painting, the Dice Players, which hangs at nearby Preston Hall Museum.

Like the better known artist. Vermeer, Georges de la Tour lived in the seventeenth century, painted comparatively few works, excelled at painting light, was forgotten for hundreds of years, was rediscovered, and became the subject of fakes.

There are only three paintings by de la Tour in Britain. The Dice Players was spotted as a work of quality during a valuation of paintings at Preston Hall about 30 years ago.

It was identified before cleaning as a work by this rare master, by Benedict Nicolson and Christopher Wright. Even more exciting was the discovery of the artist's signature during subsequent cleaning.

It was shown in a major exhibition, which rehabilitated the artist, at the Louvre, Paris, in 1972. After that, everyone wanted a Georges de la Tour. Fakes began to appear on the art market, until more artistic detective work exposed the truth.

The full story will be told by Christopher Wright himself, who made the original attribution as a young man and is now a well-known art historian.

Mr Wright published the standard work on de la Tour in 1974. He has written extensively on seventeenth century art, curated many exhibitions and written several catalogues of museum collections. His lecture is called Georges de la Tour, Master of Candlelight.

Even more of Stockton's artistic heritage will be revealed in a shorter, preceding lecture on Victorian Eaglescliffe by local historian Malcolm Wilkinson.

It will feature the industries and industrialists who brought wealth and architectural interest to the area. Mr Wilkinson is head of history at Teesside High School and has recently published a book on Victorian Eaglescliffe.

Activities start at 10.30 and will continue until 12.45, with a coffee break. Tickets cost £7 each, with proceeds to the National Art Collections Fund. They may be purchased in advance by calling Mrs F Conran on 01833 631055, or bought at the door.