Van Gogh worth $15 million bought at garage sale for $50

takeahike

Someone Bought This Painting at a Garage Sale for $50. Experts Say It’s a Lost van Gogh Worth $15 Million.

During Vincent van Gogh’s year-long stay in a French asylum, he created some 150 paintings—including Irises and The Starry Night. He also painted many interpretations of other artists’ work, calling them “translations.” As van Gogh wrote in a letter to his brother Theo, he was “not copying pure and simple” but rather “translating into another language, the one of colors, the impressions of chiaroscuro and white and black.”

Now, experts say they’ve identified a long-lost van Gogh translation: an oil portrait of a red-cheeked fisherman, which an antiques collector purchased at a garage sale in Minnesota for under $50.

The collector sold the piece to the art research firm LMI Group International for an undisclosed amount in 2019. Since then, the company’s researchers have been investigating the painting, and they recently released a 450-page report detailing their conclusion: It’s a van Gogh.

ZZZZZZZ

He probably knew what he was buying.

broknsymetry

From what I see, he got ripped off for $50.

takeahike

broknsymetry

broknsymetry From what I see, he got ripped off for $50.

They could take me for all I've got.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot.

Somewhat-Reticent

The provenance trail could prove a fascinating story.

Rook

Fisherman With Funky Pipe?

I wouldn't pay $50 for that or put it on my wall.
It's a van Gogh though, so $50 is a pretty good investment.

Thane_Bitter

Rook Certainly not his best work, sometimes he painted the same thing again so perhaps there are other versions, I don't know his entire body of work. But hell yeah what an investment, did the buyer haggle over the price or just pay whatever they asked for it?

takeahike

Thane_Bitter

Here's the song Vincent by Don McLean with video that has a good sample of his work. He apparently did about 900 paintings before taking his own life at age 37.

Lyrics

Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now

For they could not love you
But still, your love was true
And when no hope was left in sight on that starry, starry night
You took your life, as lovers often do
But I could have told you, Vincent
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you