Austen portrait to return for exhibition

One of the most famous images of Jane Austen is returning to the UK for an exhibition marking the 200th anniversary of the author’s death.

The James Andrews watercolour was commissioned by the Pride And Prejudice novelist’s nephew in 1869 and will appear on the new £10 note from 2017. But the rarely-seen portrait was snapped up by a private collector, thought to be in the US, for £164,500 at an auction in London in 2013.

That portrait will also feature in the exhibition, along with Austen’s teenage writings and the original ending she penned for another of her great novels, Persuasion.

The Mysterious Miss Austen runs from May 13 to July 24 at the Gallery in Winchester Discovery Centre.