#Great #Discoveries #Painting #Worth #WorthPoint
New York-based art dealer Allen Treibitz checked out a barn sale in the Hamptons a few months ago, according to The Canadian Press. At the sale, Treibitz saw a painting depicting a carved grizzly bear on top of a totem pole. The painting “stood out from everything else in the barn,” Treibitz said.
Legendary Canadian painter Emily Carr had signed the painting. At the time, Treibitz was not familiar with Carr. However, the Carr painting stood out to Treibitz, and he chose to purchase it for $50.
Following the purchase, Treibitz learned more about the painting and its origin. He discovered the painting was likely worth far more than he originally paid for it.
Treibitz contacted Canada’s Heffel Fine Art Auction House to share his discovery and learn more about its value. Auction house President David Heffel saw photos of the painting and noted, “There was no doubt in my mind that this was an exciting Cinderella discovery.” The Canadian Press reported.
Carr had produced the painting, “Masset, Q.C.I.,” in 1912. The painting depicts an Indigenous memorial post that stood in Masset, a village in British Columbia, Canada.
The painting may have been a gift to Carr’s friend Nell Cozier and her husband in the 1930s. Cozier and her husband had worked as caretakers at an estate in the Hamptons and may have placed the painting in a barn. Since then, the painting has been hanging in this barn.
The painting will be auctioned on November 20. Some experts predict it could sell for between $100,000 and $200,000.
Those wanting to view more of Carr’s paintings can see nearly 500 pieces in the WorthPoint Price Guide.
Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug, Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.
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