“Tucked away” in a home attic in Maine alongside a “collection of heirlooms and antiques” art appraisers found a lost Rembrandt portrait.
Depicting a teenage woman in 17th-century Dutch attire, it recently sold at auction for $1.4 million, delighting the handlers who know it will be preserved and shared with the art world in a manner befitting the Dutch master.
The sale was handled by New England’s Thomaston Place Auction Galleries and Appraisers, who were on a routine house call to Camden, Maine. Kaja Veilleux, the gallery’s founder and a seasoned appraiser, was the one who eventually pinned the portrait as something special.
“We often go in blind on house calls, not knowing what we’ll find,” Veilleux said.
Painted on an oak board, and set in a gold Dutch frame, Veilleux turned the work over and found a neat little tag from the Philidelphia Museum of Art with the word ‘Rembrandt’ on it. It also bore the name of the work, Portrait of a Girl.
Not something you see every day to be sure. While finding masterworks of all sorts hidden in attics and cellars is no strange phenomenon, they’re typically rediscovered in Europe. To find one in Maine was a real shock.
A bit of research uncovered that the work was loaned by a Mr. Cary W. Bok to the museum for an exhibition in 1970. How it ended up in Maine is a mystery.
“Not many painters paint like Rembrandt, for one thing, and one of the trademarks of the Rembrandt paintings and the Dutch masters is what I call a ‘ribbon candy collar,’” Mr. Veilleux, wearing a soft gold waistcoat as part of his auctioneer attire, told local news channel WMTW in a Nick Nolte-like gravelly voice as he gestured to the girl’s lace collar.
THINK THIS IS A RARE OCCURRENCE?
It’s the first time he’s auctioned a piece for more than $1 million. He said that most things sell in about 30 seconds, but the Rembrandt sale went on for 10 minutes, with 9 buyers engaging in a telephone bidding war that “could have brought anything.”
But it’s not about the money for Veilleux.
“To me, it’s about bringing this art to light so it’s protected, cared for, and preserved.”
While it hasn’t been authenticated, Veilleux seems convinced, and suggested that $1.4 million is, in fact, a bargain.
WATCH the story below from WMTW…
SHARE This Incredible Story With Your Friends Who Love Art…