The Independent reports on the first viewings of a number of re-discovered Old Master paintings found by a collector:

Later this month the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool will showcase a handful of the discoveries from the Schorr Collection, created over 40 years by a chartered surveyor called David Lewis and his family.

The secrets have come to light over the years as the more than 400 paintings in the collection were cleaned and restored. But they have never been made public until now.

Among the revelations is the discovery of a sketch for two of El Greco’s most famous paintings, of the Spanish town of Toledo. The Coronation of the Virgin was thought to be, primarily, a studio painting, but when it was cleaned a sketch of the town was found in the bottom-right corner, by El Greco himself.

Another painting, thought to be a copy of the Spanish master Velazquez, was shown to be the work of Delacroix when the full signature – “Delacroix after Velazquez” – was revealed.

Xanthe Brooke, the exhibition’s curator, said: “In the case of Delacroix, we have a new painting in his oeuvre.”

Art world agog as private hoard comes to light (The Independent)