This is a great little story about sheer luck and circumstance. I found it originally on AOL.com and you can click here to read the full version, but a recap goes something like this:
One March morning four years ago, Elizabeth Gibson was on her way to get coffee, when she spotted a large and colorful abstract canvas nestled between two big garbage bags in front of the Alexandria, an apartment building on the northwest corner of Broadway and 72nd Street in
“I had a real debate with myself,” said Ms. Gibson, a writer and self-professed Dumpster diver. “I almost left it there because it was so big, and I kept thinking to myself, ‘Why are you taking this back to your crammed apartment?’” But, she said, she felt she simply had to have the 38-by-51-inch painting, because “it had a strange power.”
Art experts would agree with her. As it turns out, the painting was “Three People,” a 1970 canvas by the celebrated 20th-century Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo that was stolen 20 years ago and is the subject of an F.B.I. Investigation.
Experts say the painting — a largely abstract depiction of a man, a woman and an androgynous figure in vibrant purples, oranges and yellows — is in miraculously good condition and worth about $1 million. Ms. Gibson returned the painting to it's original owner and will receive the promised $15,000 reward from the seller, as well as a smaller finder’s fee from Sotheby’s, which the auction house declined to disclose. On Nov. 20 it is to go on the block at Sotheby’s as one of the highlights of a Latin American art auction.
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This is a beautiful 1908-1912 Dr. Pepper “King of Beverages” Vienna Art Serving Tray. It is 10 1/8” in diameter. Overall, the seller quotes the tray at a C-9. The color is bright and it is difficult to find a Dr. Pepper tray in this good of condition.
This fine vintage advertisement for a 1953 beer is in excellent condition but is slightly yellowed. It measures approximately 10” x 13 ½” and is suitable for framing. The ad itself depicts various scenes of people talking by “Douglas Crockwell” entitled “First Catch Of The Season”.
This is a Mickey Mouse book published in 1939 and is 429 pages long. It is illustrated completely in black and white. It is 3 5/8 inches across by 4 ½ inches tall, the front and back covers show slight wear, and the pages are not flat against the spine, but all in all it is in good condition for being a children's book from 1939!
This 1957 Vintage Ice Capades Program (18th
This 1940's Hula Girl, Bathing Beauty Clock is a rare item. It is made of metal and measures 12 ½” at the top of the palm tree and 10” wide at the base. It is in excellent working condition with its original cord still in tact, and has overall retained its original painted colors well. The Carriers US Patent Number is 221402355, which is a 1939 patent date.