We like most have heard stories about some Van Gogh being found in an attic or flopped out on some flee market table---and they do happen. In fact, a good friend of ours went to some yard sale and found a really great frame he thought his wife could use, snatched it up for $25 and hauled it home. She got to looking at the painting held therein and decided it was a bit beyond the usual copy of some Hudson River school ditty. Once trucked off to a gallery in Santa Fe it was quickly learned it was a Crosby and fetched a handsome $25k. Oh ya, dude.
So the other day we drifted into a antique mall in Madison and began the usual wondering around looking for "stuff" which could include carburetors for Porsches, musical instruments (usually Martins) and paintings. All three of us regathered and mulled our observations. It seems that back in the corner was this painting that caught our discerning eyes.
I was struck by the quality of the craftsmanship and noted the frame which itself was a notch above the normal fare. It was old, probably pre1900 and painted in a realistic style not unlike some of the masters, almost Rembrandty, or Millet but probably American. (Just remembered we did find a nice small painting that was determined to be probably one of Rembrandt students in Elizabeth Colorado in JUNK shop).
What caught my eye here was the presentation, simple but elegant, almost a touch of the Girl with the Pearl Ear ring. There is an intensity in the young girl that asked many questions. Why the dark clothing? There is a touch a magic of intrigue, a mystery. Very nice piece that would look any wall look important. But like the $600 1963 Porsche I once passed, the $900 was just more than we could stand. Oh, to be flush! There it still hangs waiting for that one special person.
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