A painting by Dutch artist Vermeer, long thought to be a forgery, will go under the hammer at Sotheby's today for an estimated ?3 million pounds thanks to the investigative talent of UCL researchers.
Using a series of techniques ranging from polarising light microscopy to infrared x-ray reflectography, a ten-year study led by Ms Libby Sheldon of the Department of the History of Art was able to verify that the 'Young Woman Seated at the Virginals' was painted by the artist.