| A portrait of Sean Connery in a pair of skimpy trunks, painted before he was famous, has gone on display at a major exhibition in London.
The portrait (in AFP picture) was painted in 1952 by Al Fairweather, a jazz musician, who was a student at Edinburgh College of Art.
At that time, Connery, now 77, was in the peak physical condition that won him third place in the Mr Universe competition, and used to pose as a life model.
The oil-on-canvas painting shows a side-on view of a muscular Connery dressed in body-building trunks. It was painted just before he auditioned for a stage production of South Pacific, a role which led to stage, TV and film work and the role as James Bond that propelled him to stardom.
The painting has been in the school’s collection, but has rarely gone on display.
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