The portrait hung above the Wadlow family’s television set for 50 years. While watching a program about William Shakespeare, Peter Wadlow realized that the painting might also be of the famous playwright. With so few accepted, contemporary representations of the Bard in existence, could their portrait be genuine?
-The painting was given prid of place above the television.
-Corner of Chapel Street is the portrait.
-What the family didn't know is that the portrait, which hung in the same spot for more than 50 years, might be one of the mos important paintings in the world and the identity of the sitter could change their lives forever.
-Ever since I can remember, I remember that painting being there because, erm, I didn't particularly like it 'cause it used to scare me, 'cause wherever you are in the house, it's, erm, it's looking at you.
Always used to remind me of those portraits on, erm, Scooby-Doo.
-The painting would one day be a central part of Stevens life.
Occasionally, the family wondered who the subject might be.
Then one day, Steven got a phone call from his father.
-My parents had been watching Time Team, it was about Shakespeare's home, New Place, up in Stratford.
And the image of the Cobbe portrait of Shakespeare kept appearing on the screen and they saw similarity and thought, "Well, that looks like the painting on the wall above the television."
-The Cobbe portrait had recently been announced to the world as a genuine portrait of Shakespeare, painted during his lifetime.
However, these claims were later disputed by experts.
-So, my dad phoned me the nex day and said, "Oh, I think the-- I think that the painting on the wall, erm, in the corner might be Shakespeare."
-Not long after they got a visit from a friend who was an English and art lecturer.
She took a special interest in the painting.
-She turned 'round and she said, "Oh, you've got a picture of Shakespeare."
It was at that stage, she took an eyeglass out of her handbag, and she did say it looked more like Shakespeare than Shakespeare.
-Quite shaken up, she sat down and asked for a strong drink.
-And she said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I must go."
-She was astonished.
There aren't any survivin portraits of Shakespeare known to have been painted during his life.
People have been searchin for one for the last 400 years, and any claim of a new discovery is met with skepticism.
