Dutch master appears out of the blue

Amersfoort, Netherlands - For more than half-a-century, the Dutch family didn't pay much attention to the signature P Mondriaan at the bottom of their floral watercolour. But after a recent appraisal, an expert has identified it as a previously unknown work by the Dutch abstract pioneer Piet Mondriaan, the Mondriaan House museum announced.

"Mondriaan wasn't famous for painting flowers, so they didn't know for sure it was painted by him," said museum spokeswoman Liesbeth van den Donk.

The watercolour Blue Chrysanthemum which shows the blossoming flower against an orange background, was probably executed by Mondriaan between 1922 and 1924 when the artist lived in Paris, said Ms van den Donk. AP