It took several weeks before Zelia Johns ’06 (left) noticed the tiny, faded signature at the bottom of a 100- year-old painting passed down through her family. The signature was her first big break, but nothing close to the shocker that came later.

Johns, an Art and Art History major, uncovered the mystery behind the artwork for her Capstone project.

“My family is excited because they want to find out what it is,” says Johns.

The painting, stored for years in a closet, was given to Johns’ great grandfather in exchange for his services as a doctor. When he practiced medicine at the turn of the century, it was common to barter for services, and patients also gave him a rifle and a Civil War sword.

The name at the corner of the picture read Margaret Dovaston. She was born in London in 1894 and went on to study painting at the Royal Academy at a time when very few women reached that level of education. Dovaston’s paintings, all created from her imagination, are scenes out of everyday life. Johns’ picture, titled “The Start,” shows a fishing lodge during the 1700s.

But something wasn’t right. When Johns and Assistant Art and Art History Professor Susan Scott took a closer look, they uncovered the truth behind the painting. It wasn’t a painting at all.

“Under a magnifying glass, you can see little tiny dots,” Johns says. “It was a reproduction, covered in fake oil paint. Essentially, it was lacquered.”

“The dot screen is the old method of doing reproduction in the printing process,” says Scott. “Still, we were both very excited when we found the artist, and the fact that it was a woman made it even more special.”

Johns isn’t disappointed, and says her family is happy to know the real history of the artifact. After the project is finished, she plans to hang the picture in a place of honor…nowhere near a closet.