Red Tag Alert
A working man in Tuscon, Arizona, who liked to spend his weekends checking out lawn and garage sales, found two paintings he liked at a tag sale - both were bought without bargaining for $60.
Over the years he had sent photos of his other finds to the auction houses, but he'd had nary a nibble. He pretty much got what he had paid - not much. Since he paid so little for his selections he continued to explore, always hoping for that big find - the one-in-a-million discovery that would make him a truly successful picker (Someone who searches flea markets and tag sales for works at bargain basement prices that are resold at a considerable profit.)
This time the photos he sent to Christie's in New York triggered off an excited visit from one of the American Painting Department specialists. The paintings, signed at the bottom "M.J.H" and "M.J.Heade," turned out to be 19'h century depictions of magnolias and roses by one of this country's best-known and sought after artists - Martin Johnson Heade.
When the paintings went up for sale in December of 1996 the larger one - "Magnolia Blossoms on Blue Velvef'- sold for $937,500, and the smaller "Cherokee Roses" brought $134,000. After deducting commissions, the picker and his wife went home with $911,000. I mean, they literally went home with the money since they spent on a new house.
That should have been the happy ending to the story, but there was more to follow, and not much of it fun for the finder. It seems that the family who owned the painting had hired a local appraiser to value and tag the contents of the home from which the paintings came. These estate-sale specialists, in putting together the tag sale, in turn brought in a local appraiser who admittedly knew very little about fine art. She tagged the paintings at under $100 for both.
Shortly afterwards a local dealer mentioned to the former owner's family that Christie's had sold the paintings very successfully. They sued the purchaser, saying that he must have known the true value of the artworks and should have informed the estate, and they asked for the sale to be rescinded,
No dice, said the judge. The family, on advice of the appraiser, had placed specific values on the paintings and these prices were paid, said the judge. It just happened that they were the wrong values, but the transaction was a valid one. The fortunate finder paid the asking price and the paintings were his. The family is appealing the case and is also suing the local appraisal organization that had put together the estate sale. The appraiser has not been sued, instead settling with the estate for an undisclosed amount.
And what is the moral of this story?
1) Looking for great paintings in obscure places may pay off eventually if you're willing to wait at Least a dozen years or so and spend a great number of small sums during the interval. Of course, there's no guarantee you will ever find that pot of gold at the end of the trail.
2) If you're ever made responsible for selling properties in an estate, or asked to dispose of art or Antiques, ask a lot of questions before hiring an appraiser to help you identify the pieces and price the material. There are residential appraisers (refrigerators, ordinary furnishings, bric-a-brac, etc.) generalist appraisers (collectibles, better furniture, household silver, etc.) and specialist appraisers (usually better educated, with in-depth knowledge in specific areas, such as fine art, antiques, ethnographic art, etc.). If you suspect there may be something special in the collection you'd better call in a specialist appraiser with experience in identifying the rare and valuable from the reproductions and ordinary.
Home Run for the Babe
The first home ball run hit by any player in Yankee Stadium, on April 18, 1923, was auctioned off at Leland's, New York, for $126,000. Autographed by Babe Ruth, the man who did the hitting at the inaugural game at the Yankees' new home, the ball figured in a game against the Red Sox that ended in a score of 4-1. It had been awarded to a young man in New Jersey. He died in 1953 but it wasn't until recently that his widow discovered the ball in the attic.
Reality Bites
The financially troubled Reader's Digest Corporation has sold 33 of the 37 paintings offered from its collection at Sotheby's recently. Although Modigliani's Portrait of Jeanne Hebuteme sold for $15.1 million, the overall sale proved something of a disappointment, with many works selling at the low estimate. The collection brought a total of $86.5-million, with a Cezanne going for $11-million, and a Monet bringing $9.9-million. One of the surprises of the evening was the record price paid for Giacometti's The Forest: Seven Figures and a Head, estimated at $4-6-million, that found a consortium purchaser at $7.4-million.