Silver Spring, MD — Oscar® and Emmy®-winning actress Helen Mirren delivers a tour-de-force performance in Painted Lady on DVD from Acorn Media on February 24, 2009. Directed by Julian Jarrold (Brideshead Revisited, Becoming Jane), this riveting mystery miniseries aired on PBS Masterpiece Theatre in 1998 and 2000.

Semi-retired, with wine glass in one hand and cigarette in the other, former ’60s rock singer Maggie Sheridan (Helen Mirren, Prime Suspect, The Queen) seems resigned to life on a crumbling country estate, ruminating about her past. But everything changes when a botched robbery leaves her friend Sir Charles Stafford dead and one of his priceless paintings stolen. Determined to retrieve the masterpiece and find the killer, Maggie plunges into the deadly underworld of the art trade. Posing as a wealthy aristocrat, she sets off on a treacherous path from Ireland to London to New York and back again. Meanwhile, Sir Charles’s troubled son, Sebastian (Iain Glen), embarks on his own path of discovery. Where the two trails meet, life begins to imitate art to deadly effect.

Painted Lady includes strong supporting turns from Iain Glen (Adam Bede), Lesley Manville (All or Nothing), Michael Maloney (Truly Madly Deeply), Franco Nero (Camelot), and John Kavanagh (The Tudors).

Focusing on a real painting by 17th-century artist Artemisia Gentileschi, this acclaimed drama appeals to mystery fans and art lovers alike.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media distributes distinctive home video releases to the North American market with a special focus on the best of British television. Acorn’s DVD sets are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn Media at (888) 870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.