I was on the phone yesterday with Scot Levitt, the head of
the painting department for Bonham and Butterfields Auction House and he told
me a story that he said I could tell you. The story came up because we were
talking about the successful sale the evening before and how a painting had
sold for twice its $175K estimate. I mentioned to him that is must feel great
for him when he helps people to sell their items so successfully and that he
must be awash in bottles of wine etc given in gratitude. He mentioned that this
never happens and he almost never hears again from the sellers even if the sale
is great for them. “Well”, I said, “I can that because most people don’t live
their lives with an attitude of gratitude.”
Then he said that he had an exception to that comment:
Several months ago a “picker” (a name in the art trade for people who scour the
garage sales etc for paintings of value, then resell them to the auction house
or to dealers for a quick profit) found a painting in a Pacific Palisades
garage sale (a rich residential community by Santa Monica, CA).
The lady
watching over her sale was selling a poorly framed item she thought was a
poster. He mentioned to her he thought it was a real painting. She blew him off
and treated him with indifference so he bought it for the $15 she was asking.
He drove the painting immediately to see Scot Levitt (about
30 minutes) where it was confirmed that it was a painting. It sold a few months
later for $375,000.00!!! He was so thankful that he bought Scot an entire case
of a fine wine, a highly unusual gesture. But he did next made me gasp… he
drove back to the lady’s house where the garage sale had been and he surprised
her with a check for $100,000!!! So, what do you think of THAT??!!
One of the most valuable analytical tools that a picker, a
collector, an antiquer can use is a UV black light to help see invisible characteristics
and details on paintings. For an article on this and a short video go to this
page: http://tipsforfineartcollectors.org/blacklight-package/
For info on using Infrared go to this link: http://tipsforfineartcollectors.org/authentication/infrared-reflectometer-used-for-looking-at-paintings/
Questions about analyzing artwork? Call Scott M. Haskins at
805 564 3438
Questions about appraisals? Call Richard Holgate at 805 895
5121
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