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A museum assistant poses in between "The Hay Wain" (L) and "The Hay Wain (full-scale sketch)" by John Constable, during the press view of the "Constable The Making of a Master" exhibition at the V&A museum in London September 17, 2014. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

A painting of a 19th-century English landscape was sold for $5.2 million at a Sotheby's auction in New York on Wednesday, Jan. 28. The painting was originally bought by an art enthusiast for $5,212 at a London auction in 2013.

When John Constable’s "Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows" was sold in London, it had an estimated value of $760 to $1,200. However, when an identified buyer paid 1,000 times more for it in New York, it was understood that the discrepancy was due to a difference of opinion by art experts.

Christie's analysed in 2013 that the painting that it was not an original by the well-known English Romantic landscape artist. It declared that it had been painted by a Constable admirer. However, according to Sotheby's, it was an original painting by Constable himself. The auction house said that it had been made in preparation for another work owned by the Tate gallery in London. It estimated the value between $2 million and $3 million, CNN reports.

Anne Lyles, a leading authority on Constable's work, said that there were reasons for Christie's "overlooking" the authenticity of the painting in 2013. "The present work by Constable was heavily retouched with dark and opaque pigments which probably dated to the late 19th or early 20th century, in a misguided attempt to 'finish' the painting," she said.

Christie’s, on the other hand, has different views. The auction house says that experts disagree on the authenticity of the painting. It has issued a statement which says that it is aware that Sotheby's have sold the work as by Constable. It apparently understands that there is no clear consensus of expertise on the new attribution that it is an original work. It says it believed in 2013 that the painting had been made by a “follower of” the artist.

Sotheby’s believes that Constable, born in Suffolk in June 1776 and died in April 1837, possibly sold the 18ins by 24ins painting for 6 pounds (around $9 today) in 1837. Constable was renowned for his English countryside landscapes. He was particularly known for scenes of Suffolk.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@IBTimes.com.au