North Carolina Couple Find $8.99 Work that Will Appear in Sotheby’s Mid-Season Sale Est. $15-20k

There’s nothing terribly unusual about this thrift-store art-find story but they still tickle our sensibilities. This one is from Charlotte, North Carolina. A painter who favors cat images ran down to the Goodwill to buy a sweater and blanket to keep her and her husband warm at an outdoor craft fair:

“Then I spied these two huge square canvases in frames,” she said. “I am always on the prowl for something to paint on or paint over. It helps the environment, and better yet, my pocketbook.”

Beth eagerly bought both canvases, which were priced at $9.99 each, knowing that size canvas would be four times the price on wholesale. She and a Goodwill employee loaded the large paintings into her minivan.

The paintings were not aesthetically pleasing to Beth, which was convenient considering they would likely end up being covered by a new painting: one of an overly ocular acrylic feline. One thing about the paintings was curious, though. As Beth flaunted her find to fellow artists at the festival, Leanne Pizio noticed labels affixed to the back of the frames, identifying the works by artist and name of piece. The label also said the paintings had been part of the Weatherspoon Gallery at UNC-Greensboro.

Leanne cautioned Beth to be sure and do some research before painting over the pieces.

“The Weatherspoon gets some big-name artists,” Beth recalled Pizio saying.

Art Treasure Buried in Goodwill Store (Charlotte Observer)