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Woman Buys A Painting For €30 Euros At A Market, But Then Discovers That It Is Worth A Lot More

Before picking up her kids from school, Phoenix, Arizona resident Grace Carpenter visited a thrift shop where she spotted a painting of a woman cradling a cat in her arms. So, after receiving a 20 percent discount, she paid about € 30 ($ 31.50) for the artwork and couldn’t wait to show it to her family and her cat, Max. However, everyone seems to have the same impression of the painting, namely that the woman was “scary and odd.”

Soon later, she saw what appeared to be Charles Craig’s signature and the year 1912 written in the painting’s corner. The woman then informed her followers of the news in a video that she posted on TikTok. “I believe I’ve discovered something unique. I feel like I’ve seen this signature before. If I’m not mistaken, it’s a Charles Craig original oil painting “In the video, she says.

Oil paintings of the Western way of life made Charles Craig famous as an artist in the late 1800s. The post received over 1.5 million views after going viral. Her fans encouraged her to participate in the “Antiques Roadshow” series, and one user volunteered to mail her a ticket because they had a spare.

Ms. Carpenter later had the opportunity to display the painting to a professional. The expert affirmed the work’s authenticity despite the fact that the cat detail had been added later. In a video on TikTok, Grace said, “It can’t go on the program because it’s not entirely original, but if it were in a gallery, it wouldn’t sell for less than € 2,000 euros ($ 2,100).”

Ms. Carpenter chose to keep the piece despite its value because of the attention to detail in the oil painting’s cat. “For someone like myself who enjoys collecting and treasure hunting, the excitement is both in locating and preserving a piece of art. Additionally, the cat in the artwork resembles my Max, and I plan to keep this lovely gift “Finally, she said.