Australian master's secret sweetheart emerges from canvas

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2007

MELBOURNE (AFP) — A bullet-riddled canvas by one of Australia's most respected painters has revealed a story of hidden passion dating back more than a century, art historians said Tuesday.

The National Gallery of Victoria said restoration work on Arthur Streeton's impressionist masterpiece "Spring" showed the painted over figure of a nude woman and secret love messages inscribed in the paint.

The gallery said Streeton wrote "Florry Walker my sweetheart" several times on the 1890 work with a fine point when the paint was still wet, in lettering only visible when viewed under a microscope.

Intrigued by the messages, the gallery X-rayed "Spring" and discovered the nude, believed to be Florry, which had been painted over, possibly to avoid offending contemporary...