Lost Wilkie Found

A generous legacy from art teacher Miss Marcia Lay has helped The National Gallery in London buy Scottish artist Sir David Wilkie's A Young Woman Kneeling at a Prayer Desk (1813). The painting was lost for more than 140 years. London-based art dealer Ben Elwes recognised the painting as a Wilkie when he saw it in the catalogue for a sale in New York. The sitter is thought to be Lady Augusta Phipps, who died in 1813 aged just 12. The painting needs a good clean. I've tweaked its gamma setting to bring out its colours (CLICK).