kenb
Bronze Member
NEW YORK (AP) - October 23, 2007 - A painting by Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo, found lying in trash on the street, could be worth up to $1 million.
The passer-by, who had no idea of what she was looking at, picked up the painting and brought it home because "it had a strange power."
It turned out that the 1970 painting, "Tres Personajes" (Three People), had been stolen more than 20 years ago and was the subject of an FBI investigation. It's now back in the hands of the rightful owners who have decided to sell it at auction.
Sotheby's expert August Uribe had featured it on PBS's "Antiques Roadshow FYI" as a missing masterpiece after it was stolen.
The auction house says it could bring up to $1 million when it is sold next month.
"I know nothing of modern art but it didn't seem right for any piece of art to be discarded like that," Elizabeth Gibson, who found the brightly colored work while on her morning walk four years ago, told Sotheby's.
She said she learned of the work's worth after doing some research, which eventually led her to the Antiques Roadshow.
Sotheby's says "Tres Personajes" is an important work that represents the artist's mature period. It will be sold at its Latin American Art auction on Nov. 20.
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=bizarre&id=5721773
kenb
The passer-by, who had no idea of what she was looking at, picked up the painting and brought it home because "it had a strange power."
It turned out that the 1970 painting, "Tres Personajes" (Three People), had been stolen more than 20 years ago and was the subject of an FBI investigation. It's now back in the hands of the rightful owners who have decided to sell it at auction.
Sotheby's expert August Uribe had featured it on PBS's "Antiques Roadshow FYI" as a missing masterpiece after it was stolen.
The auction house says it could bring up to $1 million when it is sold next month.
"I know nothing of modern art but it didn't seem right for any piece of art to be discarded like that," Elizabeth Gibson, who found the brightly colored work while on her morning walk four years ago, told Sotheby's.
She said she learned of the work's worth after doing some research, which eventually led her to the Antiques Roadshow.
Sotheby's says "Tres Personajes" is an important work that represents the artist's mature period. It will be sold at its Latin American Art auction on Nov. 20.
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=bizarre&id=5721773
kenb
