Van Dyck portrait fails to sell at auction

A painting revealed to be a Van Dyck portrait on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow has failed to sell at auction in London.

The portrait had been expected to fetch up to £500,000 at the Christie's sale.

The Old Master painting was bought by Father Jamie MacLeod from an antiques shop in Cheshire for £400 in 1992.

It was identified as a Van Dyck after Roadshow presenter Fiona Bruce spotted it during filming and thought it might be genuine, reports BBC News.

Bruce, who was making a programme about the artist at the time, asked expert Phillip Mould to examine the artwork during an episode of the Antiques Roadshow, which was screened last December.

After a lengthy restoration process, it was verified as authentic by Dr Christopher Brown, one of the world's leading authorities on Van Dyck.

The painting is believed to be a sketch for a work called The Magistrates of Brussels, which hung in the city's town hall until it was destroyed by a French attack in 1695.

Ahead of the auction, Christie's specialist Freddie de Rougemont said: "The picture is of great importance as it provides a fascinating insight into Van Dyck's working method and also constitutes a significant surviving document for the artist's lost group portrait of The Magistrates of Brussels."