Kansas museum solves decades-long mystery of painting

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Researchers at the Spencer Museum of Art have just solved a mystery more than 60 years in the making.

The artist behind one of the museum's most beloved works, a nearly life-size portrait of "Mrs. Thomas Pelham," was finally revealed this week as British portraitist and illustrator John Vanderbank, bringing to a close years of speculation and incorrect guesses, the Lawrence Journal World reported.

The painting had been attributed to other artists over the years — most recently, Joseph Highmore — for one simple reason: It didn't have a signature.

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