Guy says he owns the only portrait of Shakespeare painted during his lifetime worth over $264 million

In what could be a jackpot discovery, a British window cleaner claims to have the first hand-painted portrait of William Shakespeare. Steven Wadlow, who inherited the painting from his father, is battling to get it authenticated. If successful, the painting is estimated to be worth $264 million, according to The Sun . Waldow claims that his piece is the only one painted during the playwright's lifetime and he found it in his living room.

Up for only debate, not sale

While Waldow's painting has a chance of earning him a fortune, he says he isn't looking for money. He told The Sun that he is just keen on widening the debate on its authenticity. “Because I’m a working-class tradesperson, the people who have been studying this for years, they don’t want to find this out from a no-one," he said.

Waldow claims that the painting was bought by his father, an antique dealer back in the 1960s from an Oxfordshire estate. The artwork has been analyzed and X-rayed by experts who have determined that it dates to around 1595, when the playwright was 31 years old. This means the painting could be the oldest-known portrait of Shakespeare.

While the period seems to be right, historians are yet to confirm if it is of Shakespeare or someone else.  Despite this, one dealer told Waldow that the painting could fetch over $264 million if authenticated and put up for sale.

Waldow, who keeps the picture in safe storage, admitted that he may never know the truth. However, since the authenticity of the majority of Shakespeare's portraits are always up for debate, Waldow wants his painting to be part of the discussion as well.

Value of Shakespeare's Portraits

While several paintings claim to be portraits of the "world’s greatest writer", their authenticity has never been confirmed. Shakespeare died in 1616 at the age of 52, and only two artworks of him, both posthumous, are generally recognized as valid. One of them is from the First Folio, published in 1623, and the other is a sculpture, which was placed at his funerary monument in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Furthermore, as per the National Portrait Gallery, UK, the only portrait of Shakespeare that was supposedly painted when he was alive is called the "Chandos Portrait". It is believed to have been created by a painter called John Taylor, who was an important member of the Painter-Stainers' Company. It was also the first portrait to be acquired by the National Portrait Gallery, when it was founded in 1856.

Back in 2015, botanist and historian Mark Griffiths claimed to have made “the literary discovery of the century," upon coming across a depiction of young Shakespeare. Griffiths argued that the engraving comes from the title page of a 400-year-old book about plants and it has four identifiable figures, one of whom is Shakespeare, Country Life Magazine reported.

Another painting with similar claim as Waldow, went on sale for over £10 million (~$13.1 million) back in 2022. The image reportedly created by Robert Peake, court painter to King James I, was also claimed to be the only portrait created during his lifetime, as per The Independent.

The painting, signed and dated 1608, was displayed at the Grosvenor House hotel in west London at the time.