A painting that sold for less than $50 at a Minnesota garage sale in 2016 is now leaving art collectors perplexed, as it could be an original Van Gogh worth up to $15 million.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the discovery, made by an antiques collector, who is now working with historians, curators, and even scientists to prove its authenticity as a Vincent Van Gogh oil painting.
The painting is said to resemble the work of Van Gogh and depicts a fisherman smoking a pipe while tending to his net. Experts have called the painting “Elimar,” which is written into the corner of the canvas.
Since its discovery, the painting has been acquired by the New York art-research firm LMI Group International. The group has released an extensive report on the painting and its authenticity.
“An exhaustive, multi-year investigation of the painting by experts in several fields has yielded the evidence required to identify Elimar as an autograph work by the artist,” the report says.
To conduct the report, experts compiled heaps of evidence, spending thousands of dollars to complete the work. Among the data looked at included the painting’s pigments and fibers and the examination of brushstrokes, which were then compared to other works.
The Journal reports that later this month, the findings from the group will be shared with art specialists who are experts in Van Gogh and dealers around the world.
The group argues that the portrait was painted between May 1880 and May 1890 while Van Gogh was in the Saint-Paul asylum in France’s Saint-Remy de Provence.
“Elimar is clearly based upon a painting by the Danish artist Michael Ancher,” the report said. “Van Gogh did not copy but ‘translated’ Ancher’s work.”
Experts have also noted that the painting represents a time in Van Gogh’s life when he was “returning to themes and images from his youth.”
“Portraits of fisherman and themes of the life at sea were some of his earliest subjects,” the report noted.