Painting | featured news

A smudged fingerprint has convinced art experts that a painting thought to have dated back to the early 19th century is the work of revered Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It sold for $19,000 at the auction to respected New York art dealer Kate Ganz who kept it for 12 years before selling it on for a similar price in 2007. The work is now locked in a Swiss bank vault with an estimated value of more than $160 million.

A painting by the Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte was stolen from a small Brussels museum this morning by two armed men who rang the doorbell before putting a gun to the concierge's head.

The canvas of the Mona Lisa was undamaged after a Russian tourist hurled a terra cotta mug at the Da Vinci masterpiece last week.

Two paintings by Pablo Picasso are bought at auction in New York, just 24 hours after another of his works failed to sell.

London's Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Monday unveiled what they called the only portrait of William Shakespeare painted during his lifetime.