Shakespeare portrait on sale: A portrait of famous playwright William Shakespeare, which is said to be the only one created during his lifetime and which bears his signature and date, is going on sale for more than 10 million pounds sterling (Rs 96 crore), according to a report in the Independent. Reportedly, the owner of the portrait, who has kept his identity hidden, is offering the painting on sale for £10 million by private treaty without an auction. The artwork was displayed on Wednesday at the Grosvenor House hotel in west London.
The portrait is the work of Robert Peake, court painter to King James I, and is signed and dated 1608. It went on display at Grosvenor House hotel in west London.
According to the publication, it is believed by people who have organised the sale that the painting had some connections between Shakespeare and Peake, as the artist was regularly commissioned to paint the portraits of high-ranking members of the court and Jacobean society.
“Those behind its sale claim the connections between Shakespeare and Peake are “extensive”. They say Peake was regularly commissioned to paint the portraits of high-ranking members of the Court and Jacobean society,” the Independent reported.
Shakespeare painting survived past 400 years untouched by wear and tear
Art expert Duncan Phillips, who investigated the work ahead of the sale said that “he picture has survived the past 400 years almost untouched by wear and tear thanks to its ownership by a family of Shakespeare enthusiasts who hung it in their library.”
Earlier, Shakespeare’s first folio of work had created a new world record for literature at a New York auction after the Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies sold for the masterpiece for nearly $9,978,000 more than its value of £7,600,000 at Christie’s in New York .
Prior to 1975, the picture hung in the library of a stately home Swinton Hall in the north of England, once home to the Danby family, where it was always known as ‘Shakespeare’. Since then, it has been in private hands and significant research has been undertaken that has revealed the artist and numerous connections to Shakespeare.
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