Perhaps someone didn't like it and so tucked it away. Perhaps no one knows it is here. By the time they do, it will be too late. Exposed to the elements, as it is, it will not last. The paint is showing its age and the frame is peeling.
Beautiful art is inspirational, valuable, and timeless.
It has a purpose throughout time. This is not to say that all artwork would be there. But we would expect to find Michelangelo's work in Heaven, along with DaVinci's, and Raphael's, and maybe even Martini's. I have since moved on. I put the painting, owned by the diocese, back into the attic for the spiders and mice to enjoy, and fired off a letter alerting the Vicar General to its existence and importance to local history.