The best-known portrait of Jane Austen, due to appear on our £10 bank note in 2017, was sold at auction today, following a decision by her family to put it up for sale for the first time in its history.
The watercolour, painted by James Andrews in 1869, is widely regarded as the most recognisable image of the author and sold at London auction house, Sotheby's, for £164,500 this afternoon.
Based on the only confirmed portrait of Jane from her lifetime – a sketch by her sister Cassandra, the likeness is said to be the best in existence.
The painting was originally commissioned by Jane Austen's nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh to accompany Memoir Of Jane Austen, his full-length biography of the novelist, which was published in 1869.
At £164,500, we’ll make do with our old, battered copy of Pride and Prejudice, but let us know if anything of Mr. Darcy's ever goes up for sale.