Bought for $4, a Thrift Shop Painting Could be Worth $250,000 at Auction

A  painting bought in 2017 for $4 in a Savers thrift shop in Manchester, N.H., and stashed away in a closet by the woman who bought it while looking for frames to reuse, could be worth $250,000 when it heads to auction later this month.

The long-forgotten painting is by N.C. Wyeth, the prolific Maine artist and patriarch of the Wyeth family of painters, according to an expert at Bonhams Skinner auction house. The painting, which highlights Bonhams Skinner “American Art” event Sept. 19, is one of four Wyeth completed for a 1939 edition of Helen Hunt Jackson’s book Ramona, originally published in 1884.

How the painting ended up in the thrift shop is anyone’s guess, but the anonymous buyer found it stashed against a wall along with damaged posters and prints, according to the auction house. After hanging the painting in her bedroom for several years, the antiques enthusiast eventually stored the painting in a closet in her home and forgot about it.

Last May, while doing some spring cleaning, the painting was rediscovered and images of it were posted on Facebook. Comments on her post suggested the painting could be something special. The woman was encouraged to contact Lauren Lewis, and art expert who worked with three generations of the Wyeths: N.C. Wyeth, his son, Andrew Wyeth, and his grandson, Jamie Wyeth. Lewis was “99% certain it was authentic” after seeing the painting, she told The Boston Globe.

“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,” Lewis told the Globe.

The auction record for any member of the Wyeth family was set last year during the sale of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s collection at Christie’s New York, where Andrew Wyeth’s 1980 painting “Day Dream” sold for more than $23.2 million, more than seven times the high estimate of $3 million.

 

An N.C. Wyeth work, “Ramona,” was bought for $4 at a New Hampshire thrift shop. It could be worth $250,000 at auction.

Photo: Courtesy Bonhams Skinner

 

Kovels Antique Trader Debut Issue – August 2023

Thrifty Threads…Archival Fashion…Lamps and Lighting…Catalin Radios…’70s and ’80s Toys…Magic Memorabilia…John Dillinger & Gangster Memorabilia…Fruit Salad Jewelry…Thrift Shop Tourism…Ceramics Marks…Collector’s Gallery      

Thrifters Now Just a Click Away from Goodwill Bargains (and Treasures?)

Collectors who love hunting for treasure at their area Goodwill stores no longer have to drive to find bargains. Goodwill launched an online shopping site this month named www.GoodwillFinds.com. (Goodwill already had an online auction site Home – shopgoodwill.com which will still operate.) The e-commerce site has more than 100,000 items already online. While shopping online is not the experience many thrifters love — it’s fun rummaging through old pictures, vases, and under tables for bargains — it is an opportunity to find treasure located maybe far away from home.

Goodwill treasures are not uncommon! Just this year, a thrifter find in a Goodwill store for $34.99 turned out to be a priceless Roman bust from the late first century B.C. or early first century A.D. The bust, found under a table at an Austin, Texas, store, had probably been part of a Bavarian king’s art collection. It is theorized it was looted and brought to Texas at the end of World War II. It is going to a museum, so the buyer won’t be cashing in, but she said that is fine with her.

Goodwill has been providing treasures and much needed items to people for more than 100 years. There are about 3,300 stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Goodwill’s mission is to provide professional training, job placement, youth mentorship and more to local communities.

 

 

Fall is a Great Time to Go Thrifting

We don’t really need an excuse to go thrift store shopping, but recently we celebrated “National Thrift Shop Day.” Finally shopping at stores such as Goodwill and online secondhand bargain hunting is celebrated with an official day! Did you know that on average, Americans throw away 70 pounds of clothing a year? And who knows how many perfectly good kitchen and ovenware items (we’re thinking Pyrex …) are regulated to thrift store shelves. We are helping the environment by thrifting.

If you missed Thrift Shop Day, don’t forget that fall is a great time to visit flea markets. Another reason to go thrifting. But don’t go unarmed. Have the link to Kovels.com handy on your phone, or bring the newest edition of Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide to make sure you are getting a great price.

We’ve shared our tips for bargain shopping before, but they are worth repeating:

If you are looking for furniture, measure before you go. Include measurements of doorways and the turns of stairways. Be careful though. Used furniture, because it is so popular now as people paint it and re-sell it, is rising in cost. It might not be a good buy anymore.

Look for chips or flaws that may be hidden under price stickers.

Old video games and vintage gaming systems are hot collectibles, worth rummaging past the old TVs and fax machines.

Anime books are hot sellers on the resale market. Buy a bunch of them cheap at used bookstores. Read them, keep them, or resell them for a profit.

Don’t buy a smelly or stained rugs or clothing. It may be difficult if not impossible to get the smell or stains out.

Take batteries with you to see if toys work.