Lost Constable painting worth up to £2m is found in Scottish castle

Lost John Constable painting worth up to £2m is found in guest wing of 800-year-old castle inherited by couple struggling to pay the bills (and selling it might help with the upkeep)

A John Constable painting that was dismissed as fake could now help a struggling aristocrat pay the bills after being discovered in the guest wing of a castle that has been owned by his family for 800 years. 

Antique experts believe they have unearthed an unknown work by the world-renowned landscape artist John Constable at Craufurdland Castle near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire.

Craudfurdland Castle and its surrounding 600-acre estate is run by its 28th laird, Simon Houison Craufurd, and his wife Adity, who hope to pass it on to their children. 

Crippling maintenance costs of more than £100,000 a year have, however, left Mr Craufurd and his wife fearing they may have to sell up.

Now, the discovery of the Constable painting, which was initially written off as a fake, may help Mr Craufurd avoid selling his family home – after the picture was given a potential value of £1million to £2million. 

The discovery of a lost John Constable painting could help Simon Houison Craufurd pay the £100,000 a year upkeep costs on his castle after it was valued at £1million to £2million

The couple have taken part in new Channel 4 show Millionaire Hoarders where experts scour properties for hidden treasures which could be sold off to raise cash.

The painting shows a bridge over a stretch of water has been on a wall of the guest wing at the castle for generations.

It was dismissed as a fake Constable when Mr Craufurd took it to be valued by an auction house 10 years ago.

However, antiques specialist Ronnie Archer-Morgan spotted the painting and realised it could be genuine before spending six months investigating it for the TV series. He concluded the couple have ‘gold’ in their hands.

The painting is undergoing forensic analysis by a Constable expert to confirm its authenticity before a possible sale at auction where it has been given an estimate of between £1 million and £2 million.

An initial assessment found it to be ‘convincing in terms of ground, priming colours and handling.’

Simon Houison Craufurd lives with his wife Adity in in Carufurdland Castle, where his family have lived for 800 years

Mr Craufurd, 51, said: ‘It’s funny because it’s a painting that I have seen I don’t know how many times and I have never actually paid any attention to it.

‘The potential that the painting could bring to what we want to with the estate going forward is not just life changing just for us – it’s a legacy that will, I would hope, go on for generations and generations.’

Mrs Craufurd said the painting could allow the couple, who have two children, to invest in the castle and estate where they offer visitor accommodation and outdoor activities.

She said: ‘It would be life changing for the business, for the house, for everything.’

The painting has Constable’s name on the frame with the title ‘Old Bridge over the Avon’.

However, Archer-Morgan believes the title may have been a mistake by the framer as his research found the bridge is actually over the River Thames at Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Constable’s sketch books show he was in the area around the time the artwork was created in the 1820s.

Craufurdland Castle near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire has been in Simon Houison Craufurd’s family for 800 years

Further research into letters kept at the castle found the painting was acquired by the Craufurd family in 1918 from John Postle Heseltine, an eminent art collector who owned several masterpieces.

Constable’s The Lock became one of the most expensive British paintings ever sold when it fetched £22.4 million at auction in July 2012.

The artist was born in East Bergholt, Suffolk, in June 1776 and died in April 1837.

During their stay at the castle the antiques experts also discovered a letter written by Robert Burns, a hotel guest booked signed by Charles Dickens and a painting by artist William Marlow.

Those items were sold for a total of £19,000 to pay for maintenance of the castle.

Millionaire Hoarders is on Channel 4 at 8pm on Friday.

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