THOMASTON, MAINE — Hiding out in an attic in a Camden, Maine, estate, an unsigned oil on cradled oak panel “Portrait of a Girl,” cataloged as after Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669) was given a $10/15,000 presale estimate for Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ “2024 Summer Grandeur” sale on August 23, 24 and 25. With 123 bidders watching, it began at $5,000 and soon escalated into the tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands, finishing after more than 60 bids at a stratospheric $1,410,000, including buyer’s premium.
After 26 hours of selling, owner Kaja Veilleux said he was feeling great. “I don’t know until I start selling what’s going on. I’m on the road getting stuff. I show up to the gallery, walk up to the podium and start selling until I’m done.”
Veilleux demurred on saying where the portrait went, only to say it’s going out of the country into a private collection.
The firm’s late summer auction, which totaled $3.5 million, continued its tradition of presenting a sale packed with art and decorative rarities, more of which will be described in a follow-on review.
