Art historian discovers that £65 painting on his wall is work of Flemish master

Picture of Isabella Clara Eugenia, Infanta of Spain, is likely to be by Sir Anthony van Dyck, finds Courtauld's report

As a leading art historian, Christopher Wright has uncovered several old master paintings in public and private collections over five decades. Now he has discovered that a copy of a painting by Sir Anthony van Dyck, which he bought for himself for 65 in 1970, may actually be an original by the 17th-century Flemish court painter to King Charles I.

I bought it from a jobbing dealer in west London," he said. I was buying it as a copy, as an art historian. I took no notice of it, in a strange way. The syndrome is the cobbler's children are the worst shod. So the art historian's collection is the least looked at." Wright estimated the painting might be worth around 40,000, although some Van Dycks have fetched seven-figure sums.