Students claim credit for $11m painting

SHANGHAI - A group of former art students say that an oil painting sold at auction last year as an original Xu Beihong was in fact painted by one of them, not the late artist.

The piece - Nude, Ms Jiang Biwei, which depicts a solitary naked woman - went under the hammer last spring at Beijing Jiuge Auctions and attracted a winning bid of 72.8 million yuan ($11.4 million).

Details provided with the lot, which have been circulated online, included a photo of the painting with Xu Boyang, Xu Beihong's son, and an endorsement he signed that read: "This painting is an original work by my deceased father. It was completed in his early years and kept for my mother." The note was dated Sept 29, 2007.