A long-lost painting by Dutch master Rembrandt was found lying in the attic of a Maine home and has now fetched $1,410,000 at a recent auction.
Kaja Veilleux, the founder, appraiser, and auctioneer of Thomastown Place Auction Galleries, discovered the 17th-century portrait during a standard house call.
‘On house calls, we often go in blind, not knowing what we’ll find,’ Veilleux explained to WGAL.
‘The home was filled with wonderful pieces, but it was in the attic, among stacks of art, that we found this remarkable portrait,’ he continued.
After being found in the attic of a Maine home, a long-lost painting by Dutch master Rembrandt fetched $1,410,000 at a recent auction
In the painting, a teenage girl wears an elegant black dress, along with a white ruffled collar and bonnet.
Encased in a hand-carved gold Dutch frame, the portrait was done on a cradled oak panel and is thought to date from the 1630s, when Rembrandt had recently moved to Amsterdam.
When Veilleux found the painting, he discovered that it had a pristine surface and an established family provenance.
On the back of the frame, he discerned a label that identified the portrait as a work of Rembrandt.
The label further stated that the piece of art had previously been loaned to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1970 for an exhibition.
Born in Leiden in 1606, Rembrandt is esteemed one of the greatest painters in the history of art.
In the painting, a teenage girl wears an elegant black dress, along with a white ruffled collar and bonnet
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The prolific artist is estimated to have produced a total of roughly 300 paintings, 300 etchings, and 2,000 drawings.
In 2015, his ‘Portrait of Marten Looten,’ sold for $33.8 million at Sotheby’s, making it the priciest Rembrandt ever sold at auction.
The painting from the attic in Maine is believed to hail from the period in which the Dutch master supervised the studio of Hendrick Uylenburgh, a noted art dealer.
According to liveauctioneers.com, Rembrandt fulfilled ‘dozens of similar portrait commissions, some of them with the aid of assistants.’
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On the back of the frame, he discerned a label that identified the portrait as a work of Rembrandt
Despite the prodigious amount of art he created, his work remains incredibly valuable.
At the recent auction organized by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, the portrait of the young girl quickly caught the eye of bidders.
According to antiquesandthearts.com, the painting was given a $10,000-$15,000 presale estimate.
From an opening bid of $5,000, the price soon ballooned into significantly higher amounts.
There were nine telephone bidders and two serious live bidders in the room, according to liveauctioneers.com.
Born in Leiden in 1606, Rembrandt is esteemed one of the greatest painters in the history of art
Before the painting sold to a European collector at their premium, the portrait accumulated more than 60 bids.
The $1.4 million price tag is believed to be a new record for the most expensive piece of art ever sold at a Maine auction.
Speaking with antiquesandthearts.com, Veilleux said that he was feel great about the unexpected outcome.
‘I don’t know until I start selling what’s going on. I’m on the road getting stuff. I show up to the gallery, walk up to the podium, and start selling until I’m done,’ he said.