Georgia O'Keeffe painting bought for $3,800 could now fetch up to $3m

A Georgia O’Keeffe painting acquired by a New York family for $3,800 in 1963 has resurfaced after spending nearly 40 years hidden beneath fur coats in an East Village apartment closet. The work, titled Near Abiquiu, New Mexico I, is now being offered by Christie’s in its 20th Century Evening Sale with an estimate of $2 million to $3 million, according to the auction house and reporting by the New York Post. The discovery began in 2022, when Betsy, a 65-year-old woman from Rhode Island, was helping her elderly aunt prepare her Manhattan apartment for health aides. Her aunt casually mentioned that there was a Georgia O’Keeffe in the closet, a remark that eventually led to the recovery of a painting that had never been publicly displayed.

Christie’s records show that the painting was acquired by the family of the present owners from Downtown Gallery in New York on April 15, 1963. The purchase price was $3,800, and the work was given to the eventual owner as a graduation present by her mother. The painting is an oil on canvas measuring 10 by 24 inches. It was painted in 1930, signed by O’Keeffe with her initials inside her distinctive star device, and titled and dated Near Abiquiu, New Mexico I on its original backing board. Before entering the family’s collection, the work had an early exhibition history. Christie’s lists it as having been shown at An American Place in New York in 1931, in an exhibition titled Georgia O’Keeffe: Recent Paintings.

The painting hung in the aunt’s apartment until the 1980s, according to Betsy. At that point, her aunt became uncomfortable after a guest appeared overly interested in the work, and she decided to store it away rather than continue displaying it. The painting was placed in its original packaging and kept under a line of fur coats for nearly four decades. When Betsy finally retrieved it a few weeks before the auction announcement, the box still bore its original gallery label. Betsy said her aunt understood the painting’s value and saw it as a reflection of her financial standing, but preferred not to draw attention to herself. Her aunt, a former Foreign Service employee described by family as private and accomplished, passed away shortly after the painting was found at the age of 98.

Near Abiquiu, New Mexico I captures the undulating hills of New Mexico in the softened, abstract style for which O’Keeffe became known. The work reflects the artist’s deep connection to the southwestern landscape, a subject that became central to her career. Christie’s describes the painting as a seminal work representing that connection. The auction house’s international director of American art said discoveries like this are rare in the established market for historically significant American artists. The painting’s existence had previously been confirmed only through a photograph taken in 1931. Its reappearance in its original packaging, with the gallery label intact, gives collectors and scholars a unusually direct link to its early history.

Christie’s has listed the work as lot 34A in its 20th Century Evening Sale, with an estimate of $2 million to $3 million. The New York Post reported that the estimate is in the region of $3 million, reflecting the painting’s rarity, condition and provenance. The painting's bidding starts on November 18, as per Christie's website. Before the sale, Christie’s planned to display it during a complimentary public exhibition from November 7 to 17 at 20 Rockefeller Center in New York, as per NY Post. The contrast with its 1963 purchase price is striking. A $3,800 acquisition has become a multimillion-dollar auction lot, a result shaped by O’Keeffe’s enduring market strength and the painting’s long absence from public view.

Betsy said a portion of the sale proceeds will be donated to an educational institution. The remainder will go to her and her relatives, with possible uses including paying off a mortgage. The family has requested privacy and has not publicly identified the late owner. Their decision to sell, however, means that a painting hidden from view for decades will now be seen by collectors and the public before it changes hands. For O’Keeffe’s market, the sale is another reminder of how significant works can remain unseen for generations. A painting bought for $3,800 in 1963, stored beneath fur coats for nearly 40 years, is now expected to bring between $2 million and $3 million at auction.