New Hampshire Woman Discovers An N. C. Wyeth Painting At A Thrift Store
Bonhams SkinnerThe painting, frame, and back of the N. C. Wyeth piece.
In 2017, a woman hunting for picture frames at a New Hampshire thrift store discovered an old, heavy painting. She liked the frame, so she purchased it for $4, not giving the artwork inside a second thought.
The woman hung the painting in her bedroom for a time and then stored it in her closet. Then, while spring cleaning in 2023, she posted a picture of the thrift store artifact on Facebook.
The post drew the attention of an art conservator in Maine named Lauren Lewis, who drove three hours to see the painting in person. Lewis discovered that the painting was an authentic work by Newell Convers Wyeth, an early 20th-century artist.
The painting was titled Ramona and was made to be the cover art for a 1939 edition of Helen Hunt Jackson’s 1884 novel of the same name. Experts at Bonhams Skinner auction house think that the publisher Little, Brown and Company gave the art piece to an editor or to the author’s estate, and from there, it somehow ended up being donated. Shockingly, other than some minor scratches, the piece was in good shape.
“[I]t was in remarkable condition considering none of us had any idea of its journey over the last 80 years,” Lewis told The Boston Globe.
The painting ultimately sold at auction for over $100,000 — a nice step up from its $4 price tag.
