A painting that lay unnoticed for six decades has been authenticated as a genuine work by Pablo Picasso that potentially is worth millions of dollars.

The painting was originally discovered by Luigi Lo Rosso in 1962 during one of his routine searches through abandoned houses and landfills, CNN reported. Mr. Lo Rosso, who ran a pawn shop with his family at Pompeii, Italy, stumbled upon the rolled-up canvas featuring an asymmetrical portrait of a woman in a basement on the island of Capri.

An art expert and honorary president of the Swiss-based Arcadia Foundation, Luca Gentile Canal Marcante, said the painting is believed to portray a French photographer and poet, Dora Maar, Picasso’s lover. The oil painting, displaying the artist’s signature asymmetrical style, features a woman in a blue dress with red lipstick.

Despite the signature “Picasso” in the corner, a young Lo Rosso, then 24, did not recognize its significance, as noted by his son, Andrea Lo Rosso. Luigi put the artwork in a cheap frame and gave it to his wife, who was unimpressed, dubbing it “the scribble.” It remained in their home for about 50 years, later gracing the walls of a family-owned restaurant.

The family sought advice from art historians, many of whom doubted its authenticity but showed interest in acquiring it. They registered the painting with Italy’s patrimony police, who, unable to authenticate it at the time, permitted the family to retain the artwork.

Since 2019, the piece has been secured in a Milan vault. Last month, Cinzia Altieri, a graphologist for a patrimony court in Milan, authenticated the signature, comparing it with other Picasso works and conducting forensic tests.