A Winnetka man spent decades trying to prove he owned a Renaissance masterpiece. Has AI finally solved the puzzle?

For decades, Tony Ayers of Winnetka collected evidence to prove he owned a painting by the great Italian Renaissance master, Raphael. Ayers died in 2022. His friends, Philippe Farcy, left, and Ari Cohen, are continuing the quest. They say artificial intelligence has finally given them the proof they need. Seen here, with a photocopy of their painting, at 3636 S. Kedzie, where Cohen’s family has a sheet metal factory. | Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere, Chicago Sun-Times. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times)

Tony Ayers was wandering through one of the honey-stone villages in the English Cotswolds when he stepped into an antiques shop and saw something that took his breath away.

It was 1995, and Ayers, who lived in Winnetka, was on vacation with his wife. Inside the shop, Ayers took a passing interest in an armoire. The antiques dealer eased the piece out of the shadows, and that’s when Ayers saw it: Behind the armoire was a painting coated in dust, paint flaking, its true beauty hidden beneath layers of grime. Even so, Ayers, an amateur artist, was sure he’d found a masterpiece.