A portrait of a young girl painted by none other than Rembrandt, which was discovered by chance in an attic, has sold for a whopping $1.4 million US, or nearly $1.9 million CAD, at auction.
Dating from the 17th century, the painting ended up in a private estate in Camden, Maine, auction house Thomaston Place Auction Galleries said Wednesday.
This unique discovery was made during a routine visit by the organization’s founder, Kaja Veilleux, who found it among other antiquities.
Painted on a cradled oak panel and enclosed in a hand-carved Dutch frame, the work, which depicts a young girl dressed in traditional Dutch costume, was “impeccably preserved.”
Photo courtesy of Thomaston Place Auction Galleries
“A label affixed to the verso of the portrait attributes it to Rembrandt and refers to its previous exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1970,” the auction house said.
At the time of the sale, calls for bids to get their hands on the painting came from money-grubbers all over the world. The price quickly skyrocketed, with three people fighting at the end, continuing to raise the bids.
It was ultimately a European bidder who managed to obtain the portrait.
“Of all the phone auctions I’ve handled, I never imagined I would help close a deal over $1 million. It’s like a shared victory,” said Zebulon Casperson, who represented the winning bidder.
