A collector bought a painting for $30 and sold it for $1.35 million at auction
Quick Look
- In the US, a collector purchased a Gertrude Abercrombie painting for $30 at a garage sale and sold it at auction for $1.35 million, setting a new record for the artist's work.
- The painting, thought lost since 1953, was found among furniture in Kalamazoo.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Alderman Merriam's Shells was created by Gertrude Abercrombie in 1951, given to a doctor in 1952, exhibited in several cities, and last seen at the Chicago Design Center in 1953 before being considered lost.
In the USA, a collector bought a painting for $30 (about 2.6 thousand rubles) and became rich by selling it at auction for $1.35 million (about 115 million rubles). CBS News reports.
We are talking about the work Alderman Merriam's Shells by Chicago artist Gertrude Abercrombie, painted in 1951. In 1952, the painting was given to a doctor from Kalamazoo, Michigan, in exchange for medical services, after which it was exhibited in New York, Chicago, Milwaukee and Evanston, and in 1953 it was last seen at the Chicago Design Center. After that, the painting disappeared.
The painting was only found this year: a collector looking for vinyl records at garage sales in Kalamazoo noticed it among the furniture, turned it over and saw a familiar name on the back. He managed to purchase the painting for pennies. On Thursday, October 1, it went under the hammer for $1.35 million (approximately 115 million rubles), which became a new world auction record for Abercrombie works.
Experts note that Alderman Merriam's Shells marks a turning point in the artist's career, when she began to lean toward surrealism. Shells are depicted against a dark background, and one of them floats in the void, as if nailed down. Each shell is illuminated by its own light source, they are all located at different angles, and the black background where a lone shell hangs looks like an endless space. It is here that the cracked sea shell first appears, which then became a recurring motif in Abercrombie's work.
The estimated value of the lot at the auction ranged from 15 thousand to 250 thousand dollars (approximately from 1.3 to 21 million rubles), but the final price was almost ten times higher than the upper limit. The artist died in 1977.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The price of Gertrude Abercrombie's works will continue to rise in the coming months
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- How exactly did the collector determine the authenticity of the painting?
- Will there be further research into the provenance of this canvas?
- Does the new owner plan to exhibit the painting publicly?
