Jane Austin Doesn't Sell

Ozias Humphry's portrait of Jane Austen failed to sell at Christie's New York auction yesterday. What a bummer! Hard cheese, Christie's. Haw, haw, haw. Seriously, folks, this is a surprise, because the painting is accepted by the family as a portrait of Jane Austen, so the smear campaign mounted against it by the National Portrait Gallery should have increased its value, rather than putting buyers off. NPG's reason? Its experts are persnickety about Jane's costume. Don't they realise that women made their own clothes in those days and cobbled together fashions they fancied? Sue the plonkers, Henry.