AN eagle-eyed Dorchester auctioneer has helped to bring two artistic masterpieces to public attention.
Two pre-Raphaelite masterpieces by the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti will be going on display after being hidden from public view for more than a century.
They were spotted hanging in a private house by Guy Schwinge from Duke’s auction house in Dorchester. A third painting by the master, of his patron Frederick Leyland, was also uncovered and will be on show at The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool until June 5.
After spotting the paintings, Mr Schwinge said: “To find a single Rossetti in a house is quite exceptional. To find two major works by the artist and a portrait of his greatest patron is almost unbelievable.” A spokesman for the Walker Art Gallery said: “We are grateful to Guy Schwinge of Duke’s for helping secure these paintings for the exhibition.”
Mr Schwinge added: “I know that the experts at the gallery are extremely grateful to the owners for allowing these exceptional works to go on show to the general public for the first time in over a century.”
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