The Bard In Life

This portrait of William Shakespeare, unveiled in London today, is now thought to be the only portrait painted during his lifetime. Other portraits depict him balding and were probably painted after he died in 1616. The original has been in the Cobbe family for centuries, but it wasn't until recently that its current owner, art restorer Alec Cobbe, realised the significance of the painting during a visit to the National Portrait Gallery, where he saw a copy of this portrait he had inherited.