You never know what treasure you might find at your local thrift shop. But, in most cases, these treasures are modest, if not merely quirky or sentimental. But a New Hampshire thrifter got lucky when she found a treasure that just might get her on Easy Street.
The woman was shopping at a Manchester thrift shop called Savers when she came across an old photograph. Ironically, it was actually this frame that caught her attention, as she was refurbishing old frames and thought this piece would be a good candidate for an update.
He spent only $4 for the framed painting. Later, after noting the artist’s name (N.C. Wyeth), she decided to post it on a Wyeth fan page on Facebook to see if the painting had any value. This is the painting:
bonhams skinner
Little did he know that his innocent question would create an uproar in the art world.
“It started with, ‘Is this real?'” said Lauren Lewis, Wyeth curator of the Wyeth Study Center at the Farnsworth Museum in Maine. npr,
Lewis explains that the painting was an illustration from Helen Hunt Jackson’s 1884 novel “Ramona”. Jackson’s novel is based on a woman named Ramona who is partly Scottish and partly Native American. Although the novel contains romance and adventure, Jackson wrote the book with justice in mind: she wanted to draw attention to the genocide of Native American people at a time when most people were not interested in it.
The book includes four illustrations by N.C. Wyeth, who also did the famous illustrations for James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Last of the Mohicans.” Wyeth was a Massachusetts-born illustrator and painter known for his ability to bring American Western stories to life.
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No one is sure how N.C. Wyeth’s painting for “Ramona” ended up in a New Hampshire thrift shop, but it’s a mystery that art curators hope will be solved as the story gains national attention.
So how much is this $4 affordable find really worth? Hachette Book Group, the publishing conglomerate that purchased Little, Brown & Company of Boston, the original publisher of “Ramona,” became the owner of another N.C. Wyeth illustration for Jackson’s “Ramona.” Hachette continued to sell this painting (“Ramona and Alessandro on the Narrow Trail“) for $665,000 in 2014.
The newly discovered painting, currently known only as “Ramona,” is expected to sell for around $250,000 or more. It will be available for Bidding with Bonhams Skinner Starting from 19th September.
Curator Lauren Lewis, who is investigating the painting’s authenticity, says she hopes the buyer will make the painting available for public viewing.
“There’s nothing like seeing a real painting,” Lewis told NPR. “I hope it will remain in a collection that will be willing to lend it – or even give it to a museum.”
This story was originally published on the simplest,