$30 estate-sale Abercrombie painting sells at Freeman's for $1.35m, an artist record
An anonymous collector bought a small Gertrude Abercrombie painting for $30 at a Michigan estate sale. It sold at Freeman's in New York on 1 October for $1,352,600 including premium, a record for the artist.
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The story, neutrally told
Centre · 2A small Gertrude Abercrombie painting bought for $30 at an estate sale in Kalamazoo, Michigan, sold at Freeman's auction house in New York on 1 October for $1,352,600 including the buyer's premium. The Times of IndiaN “on October 1, the hammer fell at $1,060,000! Along with the buyer’s premium, it came to $1,352,600.” Read at The Times of India ↗ Gulf NewsN “that $30 purchase would sell at auction in New York for $1,352,600, setting a record for American surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie.” Read at Gulf News ↗ Centre · 2The hammer price was $1.06 million, against a Freeman's estimate of $150,000 to $250,000, and five telephone bidders and several online bidders competed for the work. Gulf NewsN “five telephone bidders and several online buyers battled for it..The hammer finally came down at $1.06 million.” Read at Gulf News ↗ The Times of IndiaN “The auction house had estimated it would sell for $150,000 to $250,000.” Read at The Times of India ↗ Centre · 2It is a new auction record for Abercrombie and the first of her works to pass $1 million. Gulf NewsN “a new auction record for Abercrombie and the first time one of her works had crossed the $1 million mark” Read at Gulf News ↗ The Times of IndiaN “No work by Gertrude Abercrombie had ever gone above $1 million.” Read at The Times of India ↗
Centre · 2The anonymous collector spotted the signature ("abercrombie '51") on an 8-by-11-inch canvas of seashells, but knew a signature was no proof of authenticity. Gulf NewsN “in the lower-left corner was a signature that made the longtime collector stop and look again: “abercrombie ’51.”” Read at Gulf News ↗ The Times of IndiaN “But, as a longtime collector, he already knew it was not proof.” Read at The Times of India ↗ Centre · 2The collector changed family holiday plans to visit the Milwaukee Art Museum exhibition "Gertrude Abercrombie: The Whole World Is a Mystery", where the catalogue showed a 1952 Chicago Tribune photograph of the same painting in its original frame beside the actual shells. Gulf NewsN “In the exhibition catalogue was a 1952 Chicago Tribune photograph showing the same painting in its original frame — alongside the actual shells Abercrombie had painted.” Read at Gulf News ↗ The Times of IndiaN “He changed his family holiday plans to visit the Gertrude Abercrombie exhibition The Whole World Is a Mystery at the Milwaukee Art Museum.” Read at The Times of India ↗ Centre · 2Dr Susan Weininger, an Abercrombie scholar and professor emerita of art history at Roosevelt University, examined and authenticated the work, titled Alderman Merriam's Shells (1951), which had been out of public view for about 75 years. Gulf NewsN “Dr Susan Weininger, an Abercrombie scholar and professor emerita of art history at Roosevelt University, examined the painting and authenticated it.” Read at Gulf News ↗ The Times of IndiaN “had been missing from public view for 75 years” Read at The Times of India ↗
Centre · 2The painting shows nine seashells on a slate-grey surface with one conical shell hanging by a thread against a black wall; the shells belonged to Robert Merriam, alderman of Hyde Park, the Chicago neighbourhood where Abercrombie lived and worked. Gulf NewsN “The shells belonged to Robert Merriam, an alderman from Hyde Park, the Chicago neighbourhood where Abercrombie lived and worked.” Read at Gulf News ↗ The Times of IndiaN “nine finely rendered seashells on a slate-grey surface, with a single conical shell suspended by a thread against a black wall” Read at The Times of India ↗ Centre · 2It was shown in six solo exhibitions in 1952 and 1953. Abercrombie gave it to Dr John Reynolds of Kalamazoo in exchange for medical services, and it stayed with his family until this year. Gulf NewsN “Abercrombie had given the painting to Dr John Reynolds of Kalamazoo in exchange for medical services. It remained with his family until its rediscovery this year.” Read at Gulf News ↗ The Times of IndiaN “The painting was exhibited in six solo shows in 1952 and 1953.” Read at The Times of India ↗ Centre · 1The collector consigned it to Freeman's, which had sponsored the Milwaukee exhibition. Freeman's said it was a rare instance of the artist painting directly from life, suggesting the shell motif in her later shell paintings was drawn from observation and memory. The Times of IndiaN “The buyer gave it to Freeman’s to sell, knowing the auction house had sponsored the Milwaukee exhibition.”“it confirms that the shell motif in her later solitary shell paintings, long presumed invented, was drawn from observation and memory” Read at The Times of India ↗
Centre · 1Zack Wirsum, Senior Vice President and Head of Post War & Contemporary Art at Freeman's, called the result a storybook ending and said the firm was happy for the "eagle-eyed consignor". The Times of IndiaN “No fairytale would be complete without a storybook ending”“we are even happier for our eagle-eyed consignor” Read at The Times of India ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre2 outlets
- Framing
- Both outlets tell it as a feel-good, fairy-tale discovery story, opening with the $30 purchase and ending on the $1.35m result.
- Emphasis
- The collector's sharp eye and detective work, the painting's provenance, and the price jump against the estimate.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither gives the buyer's identity or independent comment beyond Freeman's; Gulf News attributes details to unnamed 'reports'.
- Charged language
- “masterpiece”“fortune”“No fairytale would be complete”
- For example
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“Imagine making a fortune out of $30!” — The Times of India
“A $30 gamble had become a $1.35 million masterpiece.” — Gulf News
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Bought for $30 at a Kalamazoo, Michigan estate sale
- Sold at Freeman's, New York, on 1 October for $1,352,600 with premium ($1.06m hammer)
- Estimate was $150,000-$250,000
- Authenticated by Dr Susan Weininger after a Milwaukee Art Museum catalogue photo
- New auction record for Abercrombie; first above $1m
South Asia1 outlet
The Times of India leans on Freeman's own release and quotes, with an exclamatory tone.
“And on October 1, the hammer fell at $1,060,000!” — The Times of India
The Times of India
Middle East1 outlet
Gulf News presents a more sequential account and attributes details to 'reports'.
“According to reports. the anonymous collector found the painting at an estate sale in Kalamazoo, Michigan.” — Gulf News
Gulf News
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre3 articles
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He paid $30 for a painting that sold for $1.35 million
Celebratory Chatty, exclamatory retelling that quotes Freeman's executive at length and stresses luck and a keen eye.
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He paid $30 for a painting at a Michigan estate sale. It sold for $1.35 million
Celebratory Narrative account of the collector's research, with a clear price breakdown and 'ultimate reward' ending.
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Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 4 Oct 15:15 First The Times of IndiaN He paid $30 for a painting that sold for $1.35 million
- 4 Oct 17:45 +2h 30m Gulf NewsN He paid $30 for a painting at a Michigan estate sale. It sold for $1.35 million
- 5 Oct 06:42 +15h 27m The Times of IndiaN Michigan collector's $30 estate sale find turned into a Gertrude Abercrombie artwork worth $1.35 million
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.