Painting Purchased in Manchester, NH, for $4 Could Sell for $250K

When you come across a beautiful piece of art, it can be easy to second-guess yourself. Where would you put it? Do you have room? Does it match anything? Is it you?

But the best advice is to just go with that feeling of warmth and admiration. Because that lovely piece of art could land you some cold hard cash.

Such is the case with a New Hampshire resident shopping at a store in Manchester back in 2017 who, according to CBS 4 Boston, bought a painting for four dollars. Fast forward to 2023, and the painting could sell for as much as $250,000.

According to Bonhams Skinner Auction House in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the 1939 painting – dubbed Ramona – was the work of Newell Covers Wyeth. About the artist, the house says:

“After a published cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post at age 20, NC Wyeth forged a successful career as an illustrator, working regularly for publishers of periodicals and novels. His work was renowned for its ability to increase the drama and character development of the accompanying text, something he achieved with vibrant, action-packed scenes, vivid colors, and a skillful use of light and shadow.”

The portrait Ramona was one of four by Wyeth for the novel of the same name by Helen Hunt Jackson. The painting up for auction was found in a Manchester antique shop, and Bonhams surmises it was gifted by Little, Brown and Company publishers to the estate of the author, or an editor.

The moral being? You never know what you’ll find in a New England antique shop.