Gordonstoun portrait comes out of closet for art auction

Published on Monday 28 April 2008 22:24

A VALUABLE portrait of the 19th-century prime minister William Gladstone, found hidden in a cupboard by staff at Gordonstoun School, goes under the hammer today in Perth.

The painting is by Franz von Lenbach, a prominent German portrait artist of his day, who painted Gladstone when the politician visited Germany. It is expected to sell for up to 10,000.

After the Second World War, Siegfried Aufhuser a refugee banker who had fled Hitler's Germany, bought the picture in a New York sale after recognising its value.

After Aufhuser's death, it was bought by the Gordonstoun founder, Dr Kurt Hahn. Another Gladstone portrait by Aufhuser hangs in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Other works, including a painting of Keithick Mill, the first known oil by James McIntosh Patrick, will go on sale at Lindsay Burns & Co.