Art and antiques dealer Frank Faryab believes he is the owner of a lost J.M.W. Turner masterpiece, and so far he has spent over $3 million to prove it. 

Faryab purchased the painting, a mid-size oil on panel depicting a seascape, through a private sale as a minor work by another artist. But he was tipped off that the work might actually be by one of Britain's greatest artists.

Turner, an English Romantic painter, was known for his vivid use of color and ability to capture fleeting atmospheric effects.  His work has recently soared at auction into the tens of millions of dollars. In 2010, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles won Turner's ethereal final painting of Rome, “Modern Rome — Campo Vaccino” (1839) for a record $44.9 million (with fees) at a Sotheby's sale in London.

Faryab thinks his painting looks similar to works Turner produced around 1844, coinciding with the arrival of French King Louis-Philippe to England. 

A number of Turner experts have already declared themselves positive or nearly convinced that the work in question is indeed a Turner. 

Experts at Sotheby's auction house will examine the painting in detail next month; if authentic, the painting could be valued at upwards of $6 million.