Cézanne print found in 'dusty box'

Cézanne print found in 'dusty box'

Paul Cézanne was known as father of modern painting

A print signed by one of the world's most famous artists has been found in box full of "bits and pieces".

The print, measuring four inches by five inches, is signed by Paul Cézanne, one of the most famous European artists of the 19th Century.

But everyone had forgotten it was even in the collection of the Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal.

Now it is to have pride of place in an exhibition to be held at Blackwell, a country home near Bowness-on-Windermere.

Harvey Wilkinson, registrar at Abbot Hall, said they had been looking for items to display at Blackwell and discovered the print in a "dusty old box".

Important item

He said: "This is an exciting find for us.

"It does happen occasionally that museums which have thousands of items suddenly find an important item that was forgotten."

The print is dated 1873 and shows a friend of the artist, Armaud Guillaumin.

Born in 1839, Frenchman Cézanne was one of the greatest of the so-called Post-impressionists.

He has been called the father of modern painting and died in 1906.

Blackwell was designed by M H Baillie Scott as a holiday home for Sir Edward Holt, a brewer from Manchester who was twice Lord Mayor.

Completed in 1900, the house is recognised as being of international importance, standing at the crossroads of Victorian design and modern architecture of the 20th Century.

Since 1998, £3.5m has been raised to restore Blackwell and open it to the public as a gallery.