The Duke of Buccleuch has finally given An Old Woman Reading the space she deserves.
For nearly two decades the Rembrandt masterpiece has been in hiding, placed 12ft high on a wall in the upper reaches of a Scottish castle after thieves stole a neighbouring painting by Leonardo da Vinci.
The enforced isolation has, the tenth duke admits, been a “great sadness because you can’t really see and enjoy her”. He has now moved the multimillion-pound portrait into a space where it can be appreciated.
But while it now hangs at eye level and is not crowded by other artworks, visitors to the castle will still have to go through a secret door and up a staircase or two to find it.
The August 2003
