Accidentally found art worth a fortune
Accidentally found art worth a fortune
Akin to winning the lottery, stumbling across priceless works of art is an incredible stroke of luck. Marvel at these unbelievable stories of thrifting that led to the discoveries of paintings and artefacts worth millions.
Akin to winning the lottery, stumbling across priceless works of art is an incredible stroke of luck. Marvel at these unbelievable stories of thrifting that led to the discoveries of paintings and artefacts worth millions.
That time when fixing a leaky roof led to discovering a 400-year-old Caravaggio potentially worth $136 million
News came in April 2016 of a 400-year-old painting, found by accident in 2014 in an attic of a house in Toulouse, France. It is thought to have been painted by Italian master Caravaggio, according to Old Masters expert Eric Turquin, who has been studying it for the past two year. French authorities have slapped an export ban on the painting valued at around $136 million.
That time a woman unknowingly bought a $50-million Jackson Pollock for just $5.
Teri Horton, a 73-year-old former long-haul truck driver, bought an abstract painting at a thrift shop in 1992 and later claimed it was an original Jackson Pollock painting worth a whopping $50 million. While the painting's authenticity is still being debated, Horton's story has been turned into a film.
That time a man spent $30 to cover a hole on his wall with a $1.2-million Heade?
While playing a board game called Masterpiece, in which players attempt to outbid one another for artwork at an auction, the painting’s owner realized his piece, covering the above mentioned hole, was very similar in style to works by Martin Johnson Heade. Subsequent examination proved his painting was authentic and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston purchased it for $1.2 million dollars in 1999.
That time when a student found a tiny painting stuck in a couch she had bought at a flea market and sold it for $27,630
A student, who bought a pullout couch for $215 at a Berlin flea market in 2007, found a painting hidden inside when she unfolded the sofa at home. The work, "Preparation to Escape to Egypt" was painted by an unknown artist, a contemporary of Venetian painter Carlo Saraceni between 1605 and 1620, according to the Kunst Kettler auction house, which sold it for $27,630.
That time when a man switched to art dealer from mechanic and possibly stumbled upon a long-lost Renoir worth millions
The Frenchman thought he was buying an unsigned piece by 18th-century artist Vernet. He offered $800 for the work. However, after spotting an almost illegible sign, "A. Renoir", the piece was sent to a specialist lab in Bordeaux in 2016 to verify if it could potentially be the artist's long-lost early painting called Soir d'Ete, possibly worth millions.