Dream Purchase: Woman Buys a Renoir For $12

A woman in Pennsylvania has bought what is believed to be a rare Renoir charcoal drawing, potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Credit: Heidi Markow

Heidi Markow, who owns an antiques business, found the item at a collector’s auction. The 17.5in by 16.5in charcoal drawing of a woman caught her eye and she told her husband to bid on it. “I didn’t know what it was, I just knew that I wanted it,” Markow told ABC. Her husband followed her instructions, successfully acquiring the drawing for just $12.

Later examination lead Markow to believe that she may be the new owner of something very valuable. There was a faint signature, the frame was high quality and the type of paper used was also a clue that it might potentially be a Renoir. A stamp on the back also indicated it had been brought to the US by a high-end importer and sold to an art collector. So, she contacted Sotheby’s, and the first word the professional appraiser said was: “Congratulations.”

The drawing is now with the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, which will make a final judgment. If it really is a Renoir, she plans to sell the work, which could be worth “six or seven figures”.

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