‘Dumpster’ Painting From Colorado Sells At Sotheby’s For $103,000

Takanori Oguiss (Japanese, 1901–1986), "Coin De Paris, Rue de Meaux,” oil on canvas, 23 5/8 by 28¾ inches, sold for $103,000 at Sotheby's.

:While digging through a neighborhood dumpster in Boulder, Colo., a decade ago, Tammy Bullock found an oil painting "that just looked interesting." She did not know it at the time, but the painting was by Takanori Oguiss (Japanese, 1901–1986) and titled "Coin De Paris, Rue de Meaux." Oguiss painted many Parisian and Venetian street scenes and is well known in the international art community. No one knows how the valuable painting ended up in a dumpster in Colorado.

"The colors weren't attractive. The frame was ugly — this just wasn't anything I could put on my wall and be proud of," Bullock said, but for some unknown reason, she kept the painting in a closet in her home for ten years. "The painting fit in my closet — I even stored my children's' school papers behind it," Bullock said. "I almost gave the painting away several times," she recalled.

Bullock and her family moved into a new home last September, and on the day of the move she almost threw out the painting. "I was halfway down the sidewalk when a little voice told me, 'No, don't throw it away — it might be worth something.'" She said that she often thought about selling the painting, but did not know how to go about it, until she saw a news story on a Denver television station that featured a new website, WorthPoint.com.

The WorthPoint website is for fine art, antiques and collectibles owners designed to help people monetize things from garages and attics. Visitors can ask members of the site for free advice on an antique or pay a WorthPoint expert a fee to help them understand the value of an object and help them realize its value.

Bullock contacted Thom Pattie at WorthPoint, and sent him digital photos of the painting. Pattie recognized at once that the painting could be worth tens of thousands of dollars, conferred with several auction houses, and then helped her through the process of consigning it to Sotheby's.

The painting, estimated by Sotheby's at $70/90,000, sold on May 8 for $103,000, including buyer's premium. Bullock is elated: "To think that I actually have something that sold at Sotheby's is probably more exciting than getting the money."

For additional information, www.worthpoint.com or 703-547-6754.

Antiques and the Arts Editorial Content