A window cleaner found the "first portrait" of Shakespeare: the masterpiece is valued at 200 million pounds sterling (3 photos)

The painting hung unnoticed in the living room for a long time. When Stephen Wadlow discovered that it could be a picture of the famous playwright, he spent thousands of pounds examining all the evidence and examination.





58-year-old window cleaner Stephen Wadlow from Aylesbury, Bucks, is trying to prove that he is the owner of the first portrait of William Shakespeare made during his lifetime. This work of art could be worth 200 million pounds.

Mr Wadlow has been trying to confirm the painting's authenticity since his father called him in 2012 while watching a documentary about the playwright and said: "He looks like our guy on the telly":

Experts have determined that the painting was created during the famous English playwright's time and is not a copy. However, the debate over whether it is really William Shakespeare still rages.

One dealer has told Stephen that if the painting is proven to be authentic, it could be worth up to £200 million. So the owner is keen to widen the debate to find out the truth.



"Because I'm a working-class dealer, people who've studied the writer for years don't want to hear about it from me," Wadlow complains.

His father, 92-year-old antique dealer Peter, bought the portrait from Great Tew in Oxfordshire in the 1960s. It hung unnoticed in the drawing room for years, but when Stephen suggested it might be Shakespeare, he spent thousands of pounds examining all the evidence and having it examined by experts. It was X-rayed and analyzed by art historians, who determined the playwright was 31 when he painted it.

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