They bought it for just $600: A lost work by Anthony van Dyck sold for three million dollars
The lost artwork of the Flemish artist Anthony van Dyck, which was found on a farm in the late 20th century, has now sold for just over three million dollars at auction, CNN reported.
The found work is a sketch for a later painting by the Flemish artist, called "Saint Jerome". Currently, the final version of the image located in the Boimans van Boningen museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
The sketch, which shows a naked older man sitting on a chair, according to Sotheby's is unique for several reasons. Namely, it is one of two large sketches that Van Dyck made from live models.
It was probably painted between 1615 and 1618, while Van Dyck was a young artist working with Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerp, Belgium.
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The work was discovered at the end of the 20th century. on a farm in Kinderhook, New York.
"The man who found it, Albert B. "Roberts was an avid collector of 'lost' art, describing his collection as an 'orphanage for lost art,'" Sotheby's said in a statement.
According to Sotheby's, Roberts bought the sketch for just $600. But soon after, art historian Susan J. Barnes published an article in which she described the sketch as a "surprisingly well-preserved" work by Van Dyck.
Last week, the sketch was sold at auction for just over three million dollars.
A portion of the proceeds from the auction will go to the Albert B. Roberts, which provides financial support to artists and other charities.
