by Adam Williams

awilliams@thekmgroup.co.uk

This humble painting depicting a family dinner is believed to show Jane Austen aged just five.

Sold at auction at Godmersham Park almost 28 years ago, mystery still surrounds the buyer of the alleged earliest recorded picture of the author.

Called Conversation Piece, it is believed to have been painted by Ozias Humphry in 1780.

Sat around the dining table with the rest of her family is the young lady who would later write some of most revered stories in the history of English literature.

Sold in June 1983 for just £172, Jane Austen fanatics are keen to solve the riddle of the mystery buyer.

Anne Rice, owner of The Rice Portrait by Humphry showing a 14-year-old Austen, came across Conversation Piece while researching her own family’s collection.

She said: “Whoever bought it in 1983, probably did so without even knowing who was in it, which is why it went for such a cut price.

“Very little detail was handed over to Christie’s about what had been left in Godmersham Park by the former owner Elsie Tritton.

"She and her husband Robert bought the estate in 1936 and collected all kinds of stuff, but everything inside there went within three days.”

Austen lived and wrote some of her famous stories from the grounds of Godmersham Park.

Anne’s late husband Henry Rice, son of Edward and Marcella Rice of Dane Court, near Broadstairs, is believed to be a sixth generation descendant of Jane Austen’s brother Edward.

The family portrait of Austen failed to sell at a New York auction in 2007 following doubts over its authenticity.

Henry died last January, aged 81, and Anne and brother Robin Roberts began researching other works by Ozias Humphry.

She added: “We’re intrigued to know where it ended up, to see what condition it’s in and have a good look at it. The owner might still be none the wiser about who’s in it.

“It could be somebody who lives just a stone’s throw away from Godmersham Park or they could be on the other side of the world by now.”

Do you recognise the painting or know who might own it today? Emailkentishgazette@thekmgroup.co.uktweet us @KentishGazette or write to Gazette House, 5-8 Boorman Way, Estuary View Business Park, Whitstable, CT5 3SE.