Wisconsin bargain hunter paid $29 for painting; later identified as Heade, sold for $882,500 (Image Credit: Getty Images/ Geoffrey Clements)
A Wisconsin bargain hunter paid just $29 for a flower painting at a rummage sale, with no idea that the artwork would eventually be worth a fortune. Two Magnolias on Blue Plush sold for $882,500 on May 26, 1999, after carrying an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000, according to Christie’s auction record. The work was identified as Two Magnolias on Blue Plush, a floral still life by Martin Johnson Heade, who lived from 1819 to 1904. The original purchase price was $29. Christie’s estimated the painting at $300,000 to $500,000 before the auction. It ultimately sold for $882,500. Christie’s sold Martin Johnson Heade’s painting for $882,500 in 1999, turning a $29 purchase into an extraordinary art-world discovery.
Because he liked the way the magnolia flowers were depicted, a man from Wausau bought the artwork for just $29. The auction price was therefore more than 30,000 times the amount originally paid for the painting. About a decade later, the painting was identified as a work by American artist Martin Johnson Heade and went on to Christie’s in New York. The sale turned an inexpensive rummage-sale purchase into one of the more remarkable art discoveries of its time. The painting began its journey to the auction block in an unlikely place: a Wisconsin rummage sale. At the time, there was little indication that the painting was the work of a notable 19th-century American artist. It stayed with the buyer for roughly a decade before experts recognised its significance. What had initially looked like an inexpensive decorative painting was now considered an important work by an established American artist. The numbers alone show how dramatic the transformation was. The story of Two Magnolias on Blue Plush is ultimately about a remarkable change in perspective. What one Wisconsin buyer saw as an attractive flower painting at a rummage sale eventually emerged as a work attributed to an important American artist. The sale remains a striking example of how an overlooked artwork can acquire an entirely different value once its history and artist are properly recognised.
It is an oil painting on canvas measuring 15 by 24 inches. The auction house records the work as signed by Heade, although the signature is described as indistinct. Christie’s official catalogue identifies the artist as Martin Johnson Heade and the work as Two Magnolias on Blue Plush. Christie’s also provides extensive background on Heade’s magnolia paintings and their importance within his career.