A Mechanic Found Hundreds Of Artworks In A Dumpster At An Abandoned Farmhouse Worth Millions Of Dollars
In 2017, a mechanic from Connecticut named Jared Whipple found hundreds of artworks in a dumpster at an abandoned farmhouse. He planned to use them as Halloween decorations for his indoor skatepark.
However, it turned out that the art was actually highly valuable and could be worth millions of dollars. The collection is the life’s work of the artist Francis Hines.
Whipple became aware of the art from a friend, George Martin, who had been getting a barn in Watertown, Connecticut, ready for sale.
When Whipple arrived, he discovered hundreds of pieces of art in a dumpster. Some of the artwork was dirty, while others were covered in plastic.
The two friends couldn’t bear to see what looked like a lifetime of someone’s work headed for the landfill, so they decided to save as much of the collection as possible.
Whipple noticed a mechanical theme within the artwork. He took the pieces home with him and examined them for clues to the artist’s identity.
Most of the paintings were signed “F. Hines,” but finally, he came across a 1961 canvas with the full name of Francis Mattson Hines.
He contacted Hines’ family after conducting thorough research on the artist’s life. The family gave Whipple permission to keep the work.
“I’d never seen work like this, with physical wrappings on the canvases themselves, over imagery that was quite professionally done,” said gallerist Hollis Taggart.
mtatman – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only – pictured above is an abandoned farmhouse
Some of the paintings were exhibited at Taggart’s gallery in Southport, Connecticut. Those iconic “wrappings” were a hallmark of Hines’ artistic style, which drew inspiration from a technique first popularized by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
Hines wrapped landmarks in the United States. In 1980, he wrapped the Washington Square Arch in New York. He retired in Connecticut and died in 2016 at the age of 96, leaving behind all his art in the barn. His work has been largely forgotten until Whipple’s discovery.
The Hollis Taggart exhibition showcased and offered 35 to 40 pieces of the art for sale between $12,500 and $20,000 each.
Whipple chose not to sell some works, but it is unclear how many he saved. The overall collection could be worth millions.
Throughout the years, many artistic treasures have been dug out of trash cans and dumpsters. For instance, in 2007, a woman found a colorful painting between two trash cans in Manhattan. It turned out to be a stolen $1 million painting, and she was rewarded with $15,000.
In 2020, a Surrealist painting by Yves Tanguy somehow made its way to an airport trash can. As you can see, it’s actually quite common for valuable pieces by famous artists to be mistaken for junk and thrown out.
“As a gallerist, I am particularly interested in presenting the work of artists who have been left out of mainstream art history, whether it be by active omission or by chance,” said Taggart.
“It is extremely rare to come across so many works by a largely forgotten artist.”
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