Apparently, he knew he’d just made the find of his life.
Senior vice president at the auction house Freeman’s, Zachary Wirsum, told The New York Times that the man who bought this painting “was shaking as he walked out to his car.” He then immediately convinced his family to pause a planned vacation and drive to the Milwaukee Art Museum to confirm his guess about this artwork’s authenticity.
It turns out this guy had good reason to tremble. That small painting just brought in $1.35 million from a bidder in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Why would anyone drop $1.35 million for some seashells?
To non-art enthusiasts, paying that much for a painting of 10 seashells might seem surreal, but that’s precisely why it’s worth so much. The work’s artist, Gertrude Abercrombie (1909 – 1977), has become one of America’s most celebrated Surrealists.
Based in Chicago, Abercrombie gained the nickname “Queen of the Bohemian Artists” as much for her dream-like paintings as for frequently donning pointy hats and hosting jazz legends at her South Side pad.
The painting in question here is a 1951 work called “Alderman Merriam’s Shells.” Interestingly, CNN reported that Abercrombie couldn’t sell “Alderman” back then, when she asked only $50 to $150 for it. She eventually gave it to the physician Dr. John Reynolds as a “payment” for medical care. It was this doctor who owned the home where today’s unknown buyer found “Alderman.”
The value of original Abercrombie artworks has skyrocketed. Just a year ago, Sotheby’s recorded a $1.02 million sale for another of her works, “Message for Mercy.”
Interestingly, “Message for Mercy” and “Alderman Merriam’s Shells” were initially priced well below their final selling price. Both works started in the hundreds of thousands, but demand has been so strong that bidding wars now push sales up to seven figures.
So, what’s hiding in your house?
For anyone trying to find treasure at a yard sale, here’s the big tip from this story: Look for signatures.
It wasn’t easy to see on “Alderman” since it has such a dark background, but the faint “Abercrombie, ‘51” was the crucial piece of evidence that made this buyer take a second look.
