A $4 piece of art bought at a New Hampshire thrift store six years ago could land a buyer hundreds of thousands of dollars because it was created by an American art expert.
In August 2017, a woman made that discovery at a Savers thrift store in Manchester, New Hampshire when she was looking for frames that could be repaired and resold.
He — without any information about the photo — bought it for $4 and took it home.
The artwork turned out to be a Newell Convers (NC) Wyeth creation that will be auctioned on September 19 with an estimated bid of between $150,000 and $250,000, according to a listing from auction house Bonhams Skinner.
The artwork is part of a series of four pieces created for the 1939 edition of Helen Hunt Jackson’s 1884 novel “Ramona,” which tells the story of a native Scottish-American girl living in Southern California after the Mexican-American war.
“Wyeth deftly depicts the tension between Ramona and her strict and overbearing adoptive mother, Señora Moreno” in the artwork, according to the auction house.
Wyeth, a Massachusetts-born artist and illustrator with more than 3,000 drawings known “for his ability to heighten the drama and character development of accompanying text through his work.”
“Wyeth deftly depicts the tension between Ramona and her strict and overbearing adoptive mother, Señora Moreno” in the artwork, according to auction house Bonhams Skinner.
Only one other Wyeth work for the book has been found, as this work was most likely a gift from the book’s publishing company to the editor or the author’s estate.
The auction house believes the frame holding the painting was hand-selected by Wyeth as a base mold to protect the edges and corners of his work as it traveled by train from his studio in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania to a publisher in Philadelphia or New York.
The woman, who did not want to be identified, told auction house Bonhams Skinner she was “joking about the painting being a real painting.” according to the Boston Globe.
Wyeth’s Newell Convers (NC) creation is set to go to auction on September 19 with an estimated bidding price of between $150,000 and $250,000,Smithsonian Institution
Only one other Wyeth work for the book has been found, as this work was most likely a gift from the book’s publishing company to the editor or the author’s estate.Wikipedia
The painting hung in the woman’s bedroom for years before it was moved to a closet and was only rediscovered in May when she was cleaning her house.
The woman’s curiosity in the artwork was rekindled after rediscovering it, and this time she decided to post a picture of the artwork to the Facebook page “Things Found On Walls – And Other Hidden Discoveries”, a group for the public. to share stories about items they find hidden in obscure places.
His post was spotted by Maine conservator Lauren Lewis, who at one time ran several NC Wyeth shows at the Farnsworth Museum. There he began working with the Wyeth Study Center and has worked closely with the artist’s son Andrew and grandson Jamie, according to his website.
Wyeth, a Massachusetts-born artist and illustrator has over 3,000 paintings including this self-portrait from 1940. National Academy of Design
Lewis had worked with many of Wyeth’s works and decided to give the woman a consultation when he concluded that he was “99 percent sure that it was authentic,” Lewis told the Boston Globe.
“My assessment of its condition is that, while it definitely has a few minor scratches and it could use a clean surface, it is in exceptional condition given that none of us know its journey over the last 80 years,” he added.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
