New Van Gogh painting authenticated

A 19th-century painting of a Paris mill has been confirmed as the work of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, 35 years after its owner first made the claim, a museum in the Netherlands said yesterday.

The painting was authenticated by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam after a comprehensive study that started in 2007.

Dated to 1886 and titled The Le Blute-fin Mill, "the painting is authentic", Ralph Keuning, director of the Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle in the central Netherlands, said. The oil canvas, which is 55.2 centimetres high and 38 centimetres wide, was bought by the museum's founder, Dirk Hannema, from an art dealer in Paris in 1975.

At the time he said he believed it was an "absolute certainty" that the painting was the work of the artist.

"Finally, he has been proven right," said Mr Keuning.