One morning in 1890, a painting wrapped in brown paper appears on the steps of the National Gallery and causes a sensation. It’s clearly by Timothy Ponden-Hall, an artist whose paintings were celebrated and debated not just for their beauty but for the rumours behind them: they were believed to immortalise the soul of their subjects. But the mysterious explorer and artist has been thought dead for the last 50 years – so what does this new portrait mean? The Gallery brings in renowned art historian Solomon Oak to investigate. But as he races against time with his daughter Alice sometimes helping, and sometimes hindering him, they find that exposing Ponden-Hall’s legacy will prove more controversial than they could have imagined for Victorian society.

Set between London and Oxford, The Portrait Artist is a beautiful historical mystery exploring race, fame and long-kept secrets.