Woman who bought painting for $4 from thrift store set to make more than $150,000
Katherine Sidnell
Featured Image Credit: Smithsonian Institution
We all hope to get a bargain when we visit the thrift shop.
However, one New Hampshire woman has stunned the art world by buying a $4 dollar which has been valued at $150,000.
If that weren't impressive enough, the anonymous owner had no idea about the painting true value and even kept it in a cupboard.
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The unnamed woman originally purchased the picture in August 2017, from Savers in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Armed with little knowledge of the art world, she thought she could perhaps fix up the frame and re-sell it.
She bought it for just $4 (£3.18) and returned home, unaware of the masterpiece she had in her hands.
The anonymous owner was so oblivious that the paint then hung in her home for four years before being shoved in a closet.
Thankfully, it was later rediscovered in May during a clear out.
It turns out that the artwork was by Newell Convers Wyeth, also known as N.C. Wyeth and is worth a fortune.
Due to go up for auction later this month, the painting is expected to sell for an insane fee of $150,000 and $250,000 (£119k - £198k) – according to auctioneers Bonhams Skinner.
If you are wondering why the piece is so special, it was created as part of four artworks for Helen Hunt Jackson's novel Ramona.
Created for the 1939 edition, the novel is a heartbreaking tale a Scottish Native American girl's life during the Mexican-American war.
According to auctioneers Bonhams Skinner, the painting shows how 'Wyeth deftly portrays the tension between Ramona and her rigid and overbearing foster mother, Señora Moreno'.
They also state that the Massachusetts-born artist is known for his ability to 'increase the drama and character development' through his illustrations.
Experts are still unsure as to how the painting arrived at the thrift store, but believe the painting was gifted to the estate of Helen Hunt Jackson by her publishers.
Whilst they are still trying to confirm the theory, one Wyeth expert has said ‘99 percent certain that it was authentic’.
Lauren Lewis initially spotted the artwork on “Things Found In Walls – And Other Hidden Findings”, after anonymous owner uploading an image to the Facebook page.
Having viewed the painting in person, Lewis told the Boston Globe that it was 'in remarkable condition' given it's strange journey.
She said: "My assessment of the condition was that, while it certainly had some small scratches and it could use a surface clean, it was in remarkable condition considering none of us had any idea of its journey over the last 80 years."
It seems one woman's trash really is another's treasure.