When Eleanor Ryan ducked out of the rain into the Bermuda National Gallery yesterday, the last thing she expected to see was an original Rembrandt painting dating back to 1633.

But like almost 2,000 other visitors who have attended the gallery in the past fortnight, that's exactly what the Connecticut tourist and her two daughters Lorraine Kelly and Ginny Hodge got the chance to view at close quarters.

"It's wonderful," said 81-year-old Mrs. Ryan, who is visiting the Island until Saturday. "We feel that this is a real treat."

Today is the last day Portrait of a Bearded Man in a Red Doublet will be on display and gallery bosses are urging anyone who hasn't yet seen it to head to City Hall before 4 p.m.

Gallery chairman Gary Phillips explained that the painting — on loan from an anonymous private collector thanks to Butterfield Bank — would be heading back to the Prado Museum of Fine Art in Madrid.

"I can't tell you what flight it's on but it goes from here to the Prado," he said, adding that its outing in Bermuda was the first time it had been shown for "many, many years".

The rare oil on panel portrait was discovered in 1930 in a private collection in England.

Since then it has reportedly been owned by Texas oilman Amon Carter and been part of casino owner Steve Wynn's collection at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

In 2001 it was sold at auction in New York to Dutch dealer Robert Noortman for more than $12 million and went on sale again in Maastricht in 2006.

The value of the painting by the Dutch master has seen security stepped up at BNG over the past two weeks, with guards patrolling 24 hours a day.

Gallery director Laura Gorham said BNG had been averaging about 150 visitors a day for the last two weeks, far more than the usual 40 to 70 people.

Governor Sir Richard Gozney, Deputy Premier Paula Cox and Opposition Leader Kim Swan are among those to have viewed it.

"We figure that by the end of tomorrow afternoon, it will be just under 2,000 visitors in two weeks," she said yesterday. "We are quite pleased with that.

"You never know what it is that is exciting enough that will really do it. The audience figures are telling us that people wanted to see this."

Mr. Phillips said the real benefit of having the original Rembrandt was that viewers were exposed to the gallery's other exhibitions, including a collection of Inuit art, a tribute to Canadian born sculptor Byllee Lang and a comparison of Bermudian and African works.

Dutch visitor Anita Schwarz, who has a home in Warwick with her American husband John, said she came "galloping" to City Hall to view the Rembrandt.

"I think it's beautiful, absolutely beautiful," she said. "And now I'm fascinated by this lady Byllee Lang."

Gordon Holland, visiting from Ontario, said of the Rembrandt: "It's breathtaking. To know that it's so old yet so colourful and vibrant; it has held its age."

Sir Richard told The Royal Gazette: "I think it's magical. You can see why Rembrandt was considered to be much the finest figure in that whole 17th Century school of realism.

"The more time you spend standing in front of that picture... the more human, the more real that bearded man in a red doublet becomes. That's the mark of a great painting."

The gallery opens at 10 a.m. today and entry is free.

To find out about the other exhibitions visit www.bng.bm or call 295-9428.