A $4 piece of art purchased at a New Hampshire thrift store six years ago could net the buyer hundreds of thousands of dollars because it was created by a master of American art.
In August 2017, a woman made the discovery at a Savers thrift store in Manchester, New Hampshire, when she was looking for frames she could repair and resell.
She, without having any information about the photo, bought it for $4 and took it home with her.
The artwork turned out to be a creation by Newell Convers (NC) Wyeth that will go up for auction on September 19 with an estimated bid price between $150,000 and $250,000, according to a listing by auction house Bonhams Skinner.
The artwork was part of a series of four pieces created for the 1939 edition of Helen Hunt Jackson’s 1884 novel “Ramona,” which follows a Scottish-Native American girl living in Southern California after the war between Mexico and the United States.
“Wyeth skillfully portrays the tension between Ramona and her rigid and overbearing adoptive mother, Mrs. Moreno” in the artwork, according to the auction house.
Wyeth, a Massachusetts-born artist and illustrator with more than 3,000 paintings, is known “for his ability to heighten the drama and character development of accompanying text throughout his work.”
“Wyeth deftly portrays the tension between Ramona and her rigid, overbearing adoptive mother, Señora Moreno” in the artwork, according to the auction house. Bonhams Skinner
Only one other of Wyeth’s pieces for the book has been found, as this piece was likely a gift from the book’s publisher to a publisher or to the author’s estate.
The auction house believes that the frame holding the painting was chosen by Wyeth himself as a basic molding to protect the edges and corners of his works when traveling by train from his studio in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, to publishers in Philadelphia or New York. .
The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, told auction house Bonhams Skinner that she “joked that it was a real painting.” according to the Boston Globe.
Newell Convers (NC) Wyeth creation will go up for auction on September 19 with an estimated bid price between $150,000 and $250,000, Smithsonian Institution
Only one other Wyeth piece has been found for the book, as this piece was probably a gift from the book’s publisher to a publisher or to the author’s estate.
The painting hung in the woman’s bedroom for years before being moved to a closet and only rediscovered in May when she was cleaning her home.
The woman’s curiosity about the artwork was piqued again after finding it again, and this time she decided to post a photo of the artwork on the Facebook page “Things found in the walls – and other hidden finds”, a group for people to share stories of the items they find hidden in dark places.
Its post was seen by Maine curator Lauren Lewis, who at one time directed several NC Wyeth exhibitions at the Farnsworth Museum. There she began working with the Wyeth Study Center and worked closely with the painter’s son, Andrew, and his grandson Jamie, according to his website.
Wyeth, a Massachusetts-born artist and illustrator, has more than 3,000 paintings, including this 1940 self-portrait. National Academy of Design
Lewis has worked with many of Wyeth’s works and decided to consult the woman when she concluded she was “99 percent sure it was authentic,” Lewis told the Boston Globe.
“My assessment of the condition was that, while it certainly had some small scratches and could use a clean surface, it was in remarkable condition considering that none of us had any idea of its journey over the past 80 years,” he added.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn