One lucky punter at a flea market in West Virginia, US has found in a box of junk that she purchased for around $7 (€5) – something that was worth just a bit more than she paid for it.
The lady who bought the box of bits and pieces was at first apparently taken with a plastic cow and a doll – she saw the painting but wasn’t that keen and left it for a while. Going back to the box some time later she saw the signature of Renoir but thought it was a fake. However the pretty gold frame intrigued her and when she took the back of the picture off, her mother thought it looked possibly genuine, so she took it to an expert to check.
It turns out that the painting is real – Pierre-August Renoir painted “ Paysages Bords de Seine” in 1879 and experts estimate that the work may fetch US$100,000 (€80,000) at auction. The lady who is anonymous told local newspapers that her family is French and she plans to visit the Louvre if the painting sells well – excellent choice and we wish her a fabulous visit.
If you want to try your luck at spotting a bargain in France, check out our feature on the second hand markets and depots of France … and bon chance!
