It speaks for itself

This commentary examines the "Rice portrait" of Jane Austen, a photograph of which is reproduced in the article, and the recent evidence that would suggest it is indeed a likeness of the novelist, made in her lifetime. This evidence consists of three lines of script in the upper right-hand corner of the portrait, first, the artist's signature: Ozia[s] Humphry, R.A., second the date: 178?, and third, the name of the sitter: Jane Austen. The story of the Rice portrait is long and complex; different branches of the Austen family regard it as authentic, although the National Portrait Gallery disagreed, after acquiring an undated and unsigned sketch of Austen by her sister Cassandra, and declared this as the only authentic portrait of Austen. For the past fifteen years or so, the Rice portrait has been the subject of many debates, and subsequently much more information about the portrait has surfaced - regarding family members, canvas suppliers, tax stamps, colourmen and chandlers, although all of this information is still valuable, it is always disputable as well, and always on the grounds of dating. The painting was cleaned several times through the twentieth-century, so finding further clues there is highly unlikely, it is mostly due to the fact that in 1910 the owner of the portrait, Ernest Rice, had it photographed, which has preserved the image of how it looked before the cleanings. It should be remembered that the information in the photograph was not visible to Victorian and twentieth-century viewers of the original portrait as for many years the photograph was overlooked. Although there is still a number of questions about this portrait, at least some have now been answered. (Quotes from original text)