February 19, 2009

$5 for $50 Million!?!

A Jackson Pollock painting, bought for $5 in a thrift store, is for sale at a Toronto gallery with an asking price of $50 million US.

Teri Horton, a 76-year-old retired truck driver, bought the painting in 1992 as a gag gift, not knowing who the painter was at the time. Since the painting, nicknamed Teri's Find, was authenticated forensically she has refused all American offers and sent it to Canada to find a foreign buyer.

In 2006, one of Pollock's works sold for about $140 million, the highest sum ever to be paid for a painting. Horton's painting was valued at $50 million by experts in the documentary.

After a crash course in the art world, Horton, who says she is a fan of Norman Rockwell, still doesn't see the beauty in her Pollock.

"Do I personally think it's worth [$50 million]? Hell no. It's worth the $5 I gave for it. It's ugly."

Read the full article...

1 comment:

red.door.read said...

i have seen this documentary...it's fascinating. at the end of the doco they said she had received an offer from someone in saudi arabia i think.

i hope she sells it for $50M. she's such a kooky character.