A RARELY-seen 1869 watercolour portrait of Jane Austen by James Andrews is a late addition to the exhibition The Mysterious Miss Austen, which opens this weekend at The Gallery in Winchester Discovery Centre.

The likeness that will feature on the new £10 note from July 2017 is based on this portrait, which was commissioned by Jane Austen’s nephew, the Rev James Edward Austen-Leigh, and was the model for the engraved plate used as a frontispiece to accompany his biography, A Memoir of Jane Austen, published in 1870.

The likeness is based on the only confirmed portrait of Austen made during her lifetime – a sketch by her sister, Cassandra in 1810, which is in the National Portrait Gallery and which will also feature in the exhibition. This is a rare opportunity to see the two works together – the last time is thought to be more than 40 years ago.

The show will also feature four other portraits of the universally admired author, all together under one roof for the very first time.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death, and Hampshire Cultural Trust is coordinating a yearlong series of events to celebrate her creativity and talent, with the centrepiece being The Mysterious Miss Austen.

Presented in partnership with Jane Austen’s House Museum, this landmark exhibition will explore Jane’s life, work and her relationship to Hampshire. The county was not only Jane Austen’s birthplace and where you can visit her grave today, but its people, landscape and the society in which she moved provided inspiration for her novels, classics such as Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility.

The exhibition will include around 50 paintings, watercolours, prints, illustrations, manuscripts, letters, clothing and other objects, all loaned from private and public collections in the UK and abroad.

The centrepiece of The Mysterious Miss Austen will be the six portraits of Jane. Among other treasures will be the manuscript of an alternative ending to her final novel Persuasion.

Joint curator Professor Kathryn Sutherland said: “If you think you know Jane Austen, think again.”

The exhibition runs form Saturday until July 24.