Garage sale shopper paid $30 for an intriguing sea shell painting… only to find it’s worth more than FIVE THOUSAND times that price
An art lover bagged an interesting seashell painting at a Michigan estate sale only to discover that the antique artwork was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The avid collector, who is remaining anonymous, found the slate-gray painting featuring scattered shells lying in a hallway for $30 in July.
The art fanatic immediately knew it was something special after spotting ‘Abercrombie, ’51,’ in the lower-left corner, indicating that it could be the work of late American surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie.
Intrigued by their new possession, the lucky shopper met with experts to verify whether the timeless art piece was authentic, Smithsonian Magazine reported.
The long-lost painting was legit and will be auctioned in New York on Thursday, with the buyer estimated to fetch between $150,000 to $250,000.
Titled Alderman Merriam’s Shells, the art piece was painted by the legendary artist in 1951.
The artwork features various seashells that belonged to Robert Merriam, an alderman on the Chicago City Council from 1947 to 1955. The alderman represented Hyde Park, the area where Abercrombie lived and painted.
The new owner, who was on vacation with his family when he found the piece, took it to the Milwaukee Art Museum where there happened to be a nationally touring retrospective on the artist’s work: ‘Gertrude Abercrombie: The Whole World Is a Mystery’.
The art collector spotted the painting at a a Michigan estate sale in July. The painting was lying in a hallway leading to a garage
The buyer saw a signature in the lower-left corner of the artwork which read: ‘Abercrombie ’51.’ They paid $30 for the painting and later met with art historian to verify if the painting was an original
Abercrombie gave the artwork to John Reynolds, a doctor in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in exchange for a medical procedure. It remained in his family for 75 years before it was put up for the estate sale in July
Skimming through the exhibition catalog, the collector found an archival photo of the 8-by-11-inch painting that had been featured in a Chicago Tribune review of Abercrombie’s 1952 exhibition.
They contacted Susan Weininger, an art historian at Roosevelt University, to take a look at the painting. After she confirmed that it was indeed an original, the painting was consigned to Freeman’s Auction, the Milwaukee exhibition sponsor.
The auction house is selling the piece at its Upper East Side location in its Post-War & Contemporary Art auction on October 1.
‘This was painted during her most productive period, a moment when realism was just as important to Gertrude as the magical,’ Zack Wirsum, senior vice president at Freeman’s, told Artnet.
‘The shells are alluringly awkward and seemingly lonely in a crowd, much like Abercrombie herself. It’s mesmerizingly mysterious, as with all her finest paintings,’ Wirsum added.
In an online statement, Wirsum recalled that just a few weeks ago he had told visitors on an exhibition tour that Abercrombie paintings occasionally still surface at estate sales.
‘Little did I know that one of those “once in a while’s” would occur less than a month later,’ Wirsum added. ‘We could not be more thrilled to now steward this magnificent rediscovery to the next chapter of its fascinating story.’
Abercrombie’s most productive period was the early 1950s. Her interest in shells, as seen in this painting, was likely inspired by her good friend John Wilde, a Wisconsin native who also was a figurative artist with a surreal bent, Freeman Auctions reported.
The painting by American surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie featured shells of different manner, painted over a slate-gray and black background
The owner of the painting will now be getting up to $250,000 as the artwork will go live for auction on October 1
The artist passed away in 1977 but her work has been getting a lot of attention recently. Thomas Busciglio-Ritter, curator of American art at the Milwaukee Art Museum said it is because people are attracted to the ‘weirdness’ of her art
Abercrombie worked assiduously, mostly because of concerns over money.
She died in 1977 at 68, but her work has been enjoying a new wave of attention in recent years.
‘I think people are especially attracted to the weirdness of her art, and just how personal and out there it was,’ Thomas Busciglio-Ritter, curator of American art at the Milwaukee Art Museum, told Smithsonian Magazine.
Alderman Merriam’s Shells was showcased in many of the artist’s exhibitions between 1952 and 1953. Often priced at $50 to $150, the artwork was shown in Chicago, New York and Milwaukee.
The artist presented the piece to John Reynolds, a doctor in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in exchange for a medical procedure. It remained in Reynolds’ family for 75 years before it was put up for the estate sale in July this year.
