Home / Arts and Entertainment / Goodwill Find Becomes $34K Art Treasure
Goodwill Find Becomes $34K Art Treasure
3 Oct
Summary
- Artist bought painting for $9.99, intending to reuse the canvas.
- Painting authenticated as Ilya Bolotowsky's 'Vertical Diamond'.
- Artwork sold at auction for $34,375, including buyer's premium.
In April 2012, an artist in Concord, North Carolina, purchased a large painting for $9.99 from Goodwill, not for its artistic merit but to repurpose its canvas for her own cat portraits. The painting languished in her studio for months.
A friend's crucial suggestion prompted the artist to examine the back of the canvas. There, she found markings that identified the work as 'Vertical Diamond' by Ilya Bolotowsky, a notable Russian-American abstract artist.
Following authentication, the painting was put up for auction at Sotheby's in New York. Initial estimates ranged from $15,000 to $20,000, but the final sale price, including the buyer's premium, reached $34,375.
Ilya Bolotowsky, born in Russia in 1907 and active in the US until his death in 1981, was a key figure in geometric abstraction and a founding member of American Abstract Artists.
The painting's journey to a thrift store was partly explained by a Weatherspoon Art Museum sticker, indicating it was loaned by Burlington Industries for an exhibition in 1979.
This extraordinary discovery turned a $9.99 Goodwill purchase into a significant financial gain for the artist, who planned home improvements and debt reduction with the proceeds.
