A painting hanging in a British stately home has been discovered and confirmed as a self-portrait by Rembrandt and is worth tens of millions of dollars, according to the National Trust heritage body announced on Friday.
The picture has been at Buckland Abbey in Devon, Southwest England, since it was donated to the trust in 2010, and was thought for decades to be a portrait by one of the Dutch Masters' pupils.
The world's leading Rembrandt expert has now re-attributed it to the 17th – Century Master himself.
The portrait has been given a new value of 20 million – though The National Trust said it can never be sold; as the organization holds items on behalf of the nation forever.
“These latest investigations are incredibly exciting and important,” said David Taylor, the trust's curator of paintings and sculpture.
The self-portrait, dated 1635, shows the artist at age 29 wearing a cap with large white ostrich feathers.
The painting was donated to the National Trust by the widow of a wealthy property developer in her estate.
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