Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/discovered-paintings-worth-30-million-2013-3#ixzz2MxjnVktW
Tens of thousands of paintings found in a Bellport, New York cottage are estimated to be worth $20 to $30 million, according Sean Bergin of Long Island News 12.
Discovered by Thomas Schultz and investor Lawrence Jospeh when they bought the home in 2007, the artwork was supposed to have been trashed years before. The artist who painted them, Arthur Pinajian, had left instructions for his family members to take the paintings and journals to the Brookhaven Town Landfill after he died.
They never did, and both Schultz and Joseph decided to restore and frame the works after purchasing them from the family for a measly $2,500, Bergin reports.
Peter Hastings Falk, a New York art appraiser and art historian, says that all of the paintings and journals kept by the little-known artist could be worth up to $30 million dollars today.
Some of the pieces have already sold for $500,000, according to AP.
The remainder of the re-framed paintings can be found at Bellport's Gallery 125 owned by Schultz, who also currently lives in the artist's cottage with his family.
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I'm feeling a little sick about painting over that artwork last month.........................HERE
Seriously.
P.S. I hope - I really hope - they gave a fair amount to the family - who obviously were clueless to the value of what they owned.................
I hope they were compensated more than that. The family that sold them sounds clueless.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope they were too - that's the first thing I thought of actually!
DeleteXOX
Hmmm, wish I'd bought that house!
ReplyDeleteWhat a find! Hopefully the family gets a fair share of those earnings!
ReplyDelete¤´¨)
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(¸.·´ (¸.·`¤... Jennifer
Jenn's Random Scraps
Why oh why would the family just leave all those paintings? Even if they didn't think they were worth too much, they should have had sold them to a dealer instead of just leaving them. Silly people.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awful story isn't it?
DeleteI feel really bad for the family - and I really hope the art dealer who bought the house compensated when he realized the worth ( but something tells me he knew what he was onto here )
XOX
Awesome find. I wish I could find treasures like that!!!!Family yikes I bet they are kicking themselves now!!!!
ReplyDeleteKris
I saw that story and thought it interesting that they could find out the value. I wonder what I would have done with all that. I think Goodwill read that story too, because lately they've been jacking up the prices of all the artwork in the store. They aren't taking any chances I guess!
ReplyDeleteLiz
Makes you wonder what the family was thinking when they just left those pictures in the cottage. Did they forget they were there? Too lazy to move them somewhere else? Just thought they were worthless? I have to say, the picture at the top looks like something my son did in 2nd grade, but what do I know.
ReplyDeleteyou make me laugh Betsy lol - I don't know what happened but the buyer is an art dealer - any bets he had an idea of what he was getting?
DeleteXOX
Sounds like way too much of a coincidence that an art buyer just happened to want to buy that particular cottage. I'm guessing that at the least, he knew the artist had owned that cottage, and maybe even that the artist still had some belongings inside. Guess I'm a little cynical.
DeleteI re checked your artwork and who knows what the future will hold.You may do something and beome famous so famous you forget all the things you have made (remember that you are a famous snob)and thats when every one will cash in on your sucess......-love dee x
ReplyDeleteI'd be the dumbo that sold them if this story had me in it!
ReplyDeleteI hope you didn't paint over a million dollar painting....(can you imagine). What an amazing story. It will be interesting to see if the original family gets another dime from the people that bought the paintings from them. xo Diana
ReplyDeleteI wonder what happened to the family that owned those valuable paintings. Why did they leave them behind?
ReplyDeleteWell they sold them so I suppose they figured they weren't worth anything - I personally find it quite sad actually.................
DeleteXOX
All that was left behind in the house I bought was extra tile for the kitchen floor...
ReplyDeleteI am really sorry you painted over that other painting. I'm very familiar with it. It is one of the first Helga paintings by Andrew Wyeth, long lost until now. lol But wow, what a story in today's post! Amazing.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm. I'm going to the garage later to paint. Then hide it.
ReplyDeleteBliss
Sounds highly suspicious to me. I bet they won't get any compensation. The whole story seems a tad off to me. I am with Betsy on this one.....seems fishy.
ReplyDeleteI would never be a good art dealer...and that is all I have to say about that...
ReplyDeleteI hope the family was compensated well too.
This gave me new motivation to keep digging in the garden... Maybe I'll find the treasure I've been hoping for for a while!
ReplyDeleteAll I have in my shed is chickens. Good luck to the next owner getting millions for anything left behind in this house! lol
ReplyDeleteI have a bunch of beer signs hanging in my garage. I'm calling an appraiser.
ReplyDeleteInteresting.. I wonder why the family left them?? First time stopping over.. and I'm looking forward to reading more:)
ReplyDeleteleslie
www.4aroundthetable.com
You really never know. There is this huge ugly sketch that was left with the house when we bought it 13 years ago. I decided last weekend to make it into a chalkboard for the grandkids (it has a cheap frame on it). Larry told me not to paint the sketch, so I painted the back, the sketch now is on the back. He said someday someone will turn the chalkboard around and find a painting worth millions. I laughed...but who knows...maybe he's right.
ReplyDeleteDebbie :)