She Unknowingly Purchased A “Missing” Painting By A Famous Artist At A Thrift Store For Just $4, And It’s Worth Up To $250,000
Have you ever gone to a thrift store to buy artwork or decor for your home?
I love stories of people who head to thrift stores thinking they’re only going to buy clothes and actually end up taking home other miscellaneous items like artwork instead.
In 2017, one woman in New Hampshire headed to her local thrift store in search of some frames but ended up purchasing an entire painting for $4. Six years later, she learned it was a valuable, authentic piece of art from an American painter.
The woman who discovered the painting has chosen to stay anonymous in the press but remembers the day she purchased it well. She was looking for old frames to restore and use at a thrift shop in Manchester, New Hampshire.
She saw a painting depicting two women in a white frame and purchased it for only $4. The painting was hung in her room for a while before she stored it in her closet.
Then, while doing some spring cleaning in May, she came across the painting and began wondering whether it was more valuable than $4.
She posted photos of the painting in a Facebook group to see if anyone could help her determine the painting’s value. That’s when conservator Lauren Lewis stepped in and recognized the painting as an N.C. Wyeth piece.
Newell Convers Wyeth was a popular American illustrator in the 20th century, best known for his illustrations for Louis Stevenson’s novel “Treasure Island.”
Lauren drove three hours to meet with the woman who purchased the painting and confirm that it was an original Wyeth piece.
amixstudio – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
The painting is one of four illustrations from a series N.C. Wyeth created for a 1939 edition of the novel “Ramona,” a story about a Scottish-Native American orphan by Hunt Jackson.
The painting had been ‘missing’ for 80 years, and no one can figure out how it ended up at a thrift store in New Hampshire.
Only one of the other “Ramona” paintings had been found earlier and was sold at auction for a whopping $665,000 in 2014.
Other than some small scratches, the painting was found in great condition and has since been given to the famous Bonhams Skinner auction house and will be auctioned this month. It’s estimated to sell between $150,000-250,000. So yes, it is certainly worth more than $4.
This story is another example of why we shouldn’t knock thrift store shopping – you never know what treasures you’ll find!
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