Shakespeare's auburn hair

I was going to sit on this news until tomorrow, but The Times beat me to it. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, headed by Stanley Wells, the pre-eminent Shakespearean and general editor of the Oxford Shakespeare, and Alec Cobbe, an art restorer, believe they have found a new portrait of Shakespeare that was painted during his lifetime.

If they're right, this will be the only known likeness taken before the playwright's death. Wells said he thinks it was made in 1610, when Shakespeare was 46, six years before his death. It is believed to have originally belonged to the Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton and Shakespeare's patron, to whom both of his narrative poems were dedicated. Southampton is one of the possible candidates for the youth to whom the majority of Shakespeare's sonnets are addressed. It has belonged to the Cobbe family for three centuries, but until a recent exhibition of possible Shakespeare portraits by the National Gallery, they were unsure who the subject of the portrait was.

Obviously the painting will undergo a lot of scrutiny. I have high hopes that, should it be proved authentic, it will tell us something about the famous playwright. I believe I can say that René Weis, professor at University College London, agrees with Wells that the painting is authentic. We will know more after Wells and Cobbe unveil their findings on iTV tomorrow night. Until then, I'll leave you with just two words: auburn hair!