When he saw the drawing in April, Sir Timothy Clifford recognized Michelangelo "at a glance." It took three months of scrutiny for scholars to verify that Clifford, director of the National Galleries of Scotland, had discovered America's first Michelangelo in 26 years when he stumbled upon it in the archives of New York City's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Clifford and his fellow art sleuths shared with TIME the clues that convinced them. --By Sean Gregory
HELMETED RAMS They're just like the ones Michelangelo designed at the New Sacristy of San Lorenzo in Florence. The foliage flowing from the ram is also...