Painting by American Artist Bought at a Sale for $30, Then Sold for $1.35 Million

The small still life, measuring about 20 by 28 centimeters, was found in a house in Michigan. According to auction house Freeman’s, the painting was in a "dark corner" of a hallway leading to a garage, and it was unnoticed by other buyers on the day of the sale.

On a dark background, the signature "Abercrombie, 51" could barely be seen. The buyer, who wished to remain anonymous, decided to take a chance and paid $30 for the painting. He had long been a fan of searching for vinyl records and mid-20th century furniture.

Later, he even changed his family vacation plans to visit the Milwaukee Art Museum, where an Abercrombie exhibition was taking place. In the exhibition catalog, the buyer found a newspaper clipping from 1952. The photo published there showed the exact same painting, and next to it were the actual seashells depicted in the artwork.

After this, the find was handed over to Freeman’s, which was one of the exhibition's sponsors. Susan Weininger, an expert on Abercrombie's work and a professor of art history at Roosevelt University, confirmed the painting's authenticity. She also determined that the work was preserved in its original frame.

The painting was created in 1951 and depicts ten seashells. Seashells were one of Abercrombie's common motifs; she was known as the "queen of bohemian art" in America. Over the next two years, the painting was shown at six solo exhibitions by the artist. At that time, it was valued at $50—150.

However, Abercrombie herself did not sell the painting. She gifted it to a doctor in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in exchange for medical services. After the doctor's death, the artwork was inherited and, many years later, ended up at an estate sale.

Before the painting was put up for auction, it was restored by Julian Baumgartner. He noted that the work was in almost perfect condition, apart from dirt and tarnished varnish on the surface. After cleaning, retouching, and applying new varnish, the painting, he said, looked vibrant and alive.

The auction house initially estimated the work at $150,000—250,000, but during the bidding, offers significantly exceeded this amount. As a result, the painting sold for over $1.35 million.

The previous record for an Abercrombie work was set in 2025, when her painting "Message for Mercy" was sold at Sotheby’s for $1.02 million. Thus, the new discovery surpassed the previous record.

Gertrude Abercrombie was a self-taught artist who died in 1977. She became known for her enigmatic, surreal compositions, resembling scenes from a fairy-tale or unreal world. Beyond her art, Abercrombie was famous for her renowned salons at her home in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. Cultural figures gathered there, and among the musicians who performed at her evenings were famous jazz artists Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.

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