Countless remarkable art finding stories over centuries remind us that extraordinary treasures sometimes hide in the most ordinary places. From garage sales to thrift stores, with art sitting on book sheleves, leaning against old wooden desks, piled on sofas or laying beside lawnmowers in lawn sales. What may seem like little more than a dusty frame or forgotten canvas covered in soot can turn out to be a masterpiece worth millions.
Jackson Pollock discoveries: In two separate cases, paintings believed to be by Jackson Pollock surfaced in unexpected places—one purchased for just $5 at a thrift store, later valued at up to $50 million, and another found in an Arizona garage sale, estimated at $15 million.
DeKooning bought for $2,000 in a antique shop: New details have emerged about how a $160 million Willem de Kooning painting stolen from a museum wound up hanging in a dusty antique shop in New Mexico. Ron Roseman was clearing out his aunt and uncle’s New Mexico home after their deaths when he found a 40-by-30-inch oil painting hanging behind their bedroom door. It sold along with other artworks, older furniture and African artifacts to an antique dealer — for a mere $2,000.
A Van Gogh? : At a Minnesota garage sale, a buyer picked up a painting of a fisherman for $50, which some experts believe could be a lost Vincent van Gogh portrait valued around $15 million.
Warhol’s early sketch: At a Las Vegas flea market, a British businessman spotted an early Andy Warhol sketch of singer Rudy Vallee and purchased it for $5. Today, it’s estimated to be worth $2 million.
Possible Picasso:A painting bought for $2 at a Louisiana yard sale was initially believed to be a A woman named Teisha McNeal purchased it and, after some online research, contacted the FBI. The FBI is currently examining the artwork, and it could potentially be worth millions if authenticated, according to news reports.
