"A $3 Million Painting in a Closet?" ... Masterpiece by a Master Artist Found After 40 Years

Bought by her Mother in 1963... Estimated auction price: about $3 million
A 1930 Work by American Modernist Painter Georgia O'Keeffe

A work by a renowned artist that had been stored in an apartment closet in the United States for about 40 years has been discovered. The painting is estimated to be worth $3 million (about 4.092 billion won) and is scheduled to go under the hammer this month.

A 1930 landscape painting by Georgia O’Keeffe, “Near Abiquiu, New Mexico I.” Screenshot from the website of global auction house Christie’s.

According to foreign media outlets including The Washington Post and the New York Post on November 7, Betsy, 65, who lives in Rhode Island, discovered the painting by renowned artist Georgia O’Keeffe in her aunt’s apartment in Manhattan’s East Village while clearing it out.

The owner reportedly casually pointed to the space behind dozens of coats hanging in the closet and revealed that an original work by Georgia O’Keeffe, a leading figure in American modernism, was stored there.

The discovered work is a landscape painting O’Keeffe created in 1930, titled "Near Abiquiu, New Mexico I." It depicts Lobo Peak, a mountain peak in New Mexico, in the artist’s signature soft, abstract style. The painting measures about 61 centimeters wide and 25 centimeters high.

The owner received the painting as a gift from her mother in 1963. At the time, her mother had bought it from an art dealer in Manhattan for $3,800 (about 5.18 million won).

The owner kept the painting on display at home until the 1980s, but after feeling uncomfortable when a visitor examined it too closely, she put it in a wooden box and stored it in the closet.

The owner died not long after her niece and other relatives visited.

Until its rediscovery, the work was known only through a photograph taken in 1931 and O’Keeffe’s catalogue of works.

According to the auction house Christie’s, the work is estimated to be worth about $3 million (about 4.092 billion won). The auction is scheduled for November 17, and a free public exhibition will also be held from November 7 through 17 at 20 Rockefeller Center in New York.

Other works by Georgia O'Keeffe. Also known as the "painter of flowers and deserts," O'Keeffe is a leading figure in American modernism. Screenshot from the website of global auction house Christie's.

Some of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to an educational institution, while the rest will go to Betsy and other family members. Betsy said she plans to use her share for expenses such as paying off her mortgage.

Tylee Abbott, Christie’s senior specialist and international director of American Art, called it "a once-in-a-lifetime discovery of an important work by a 20th-century master in such wonderful condition," adding that it was "a thrilling moment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.