MINNEAPOLIS — The art world is buzzing about a new report claiming that a previously unknown painting by Vincent van Gogh was purchased for a few bucks at a garage sale in Minnetonka.
It’s the type of story dreams and movies are made of and it’s certainly turning heads in Minnesota.
“When a Van Gogh painting purportedly was found, essentially, in our backyard, it really caught my attention,” said Robert Snell, co-owner and fine arts specialist for Revere Auctions, an auction house based in St. Paul.
The conclusion that the painting is the work of Van Gogh was based on more than four years of research by some 20 experts with backgrounds in everything from art history to forensic science, according to the report by LMI Group, which now owns the painting and is led by a former curator of ancient art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The painting itself was also tested using the latest technology, giving researchers the ability to study the composition of the canvas, verify the paint pigments fit the time period and even give new insight into the distinctive brush strokes of the name left on the back of the painting, “Elimar”, which bears a striking resemblance to another work of Van Gogh.
“Clearly they did some impressive work. I thought it was really interesting that they analyzed the way that it was signed,” Snell said. “It is certainly something that would help their case, but it is by no means like a smoking gun that it is a Van Gogh.”
Meanwhile, Snell points out that a number of unanswered questions seem to hurt their case.
Snell: “For me, the hardest hurdle is the provenance, which is the history of ownership for the painting.”
Erdahl: “Essentially, how the heck did it get to Minneapolis?”
Snell: “Exactly.”
Erdahl: “Especially a garage sale?”
Snell: “Yes, exactly. Trying to figure out how that piece ended up at a garage sale in Minneapolis is really the $15 million mystery.”
To be clear though, Snell says it is at least plausible that it really did happen.
Snell: “We have had several patrons of the arts, here in Minnesota, that did purchase really, really amazing objects. James J Hill, T.B. Walker, and they did buy from one of the most reputable art dealers in France, who did handle Van Gogh’s work. So it is possible that one of those people purchased the work and it ended up in one of their homes and it kind of got lost and somehow ended up at this garage sale.”
Erdahl: “At the end of the day, what does it come down to for you?”
Snell: “At the end of the day, the most important thing is what the experts in Van Gogh think of the artwork.”
The experts at the Van Gogh Museum did weigh in on the painting back in 2019, when the previous, unnamed buyer of the painting submitted it. According to the LMI report, the museum responded with a short statement. “We have carefully examined the material you supplied to us and are of the opinion, based on stylistic features, that your work cannot be attributed to Vincent van Gogh.”
Snell said, without evidence to back it up, the determination by the museum was probably pretty quick. He said the new report offers a much more convincing argument, but he’s not sure it will matter.
“Usually they don’t stray from their first opinion,” he said. “In fact, most places no longer authenticate artwork because they’re so concerned with lawsuits.”
If anything, he said the report is the latest evidence of a growing strategy, at a time when determining what is real is nearly impossible, owners can make their case to the public and let them decide what to believe.
Erdahl: “At the end of the day, it’s worth what someone pays for it?”
Snell: “Exactly, that’s the business I’m in.”