Van Dyck painting 'found online'

A previously unknown painting by 17th Century master Van Dyck has been identified after being spotted online.

The portrait was previously thought to have been a copy and was in storage at the Bowes Museum in County Durham.

But it was photographed for a project to put all of the UK's oil paintings on the BBC Your Paintings website, where it was seen by an art historian.

The painting, which was not thought to be important and in a bad condition, was covered in layers of dirt and varnish and was not on display at the Bowes Museum.

But it was photographed as part of the Public Catalogue Foundation's mission to document every oil painting in public ownership and added to the BBC's Your Paintings website, where it was spotted by art historian and dealer Dr Bendor Grosvenor.