Man buys drawing for $ 30 without knowing it is a real Dürer worth $ 50 million
Some of Dürer’s drawings have been on sale since 1978, when a watercolor sold for around $ 1.3 million.
Photo: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
Clifford Schorer was late for a friend’s retirement party when he came across a drawing that turned out to be a masterpiece from 500 years.
“The Virgin and Child with a flower on a grass bench” by Albrecht Dürer could be worth at least $ 50 million dollars , said the Boston businessman.
It was at 2016 that Schorer came across the artwork, while on his way to the retirement party of Amy Meyers, Director of the Yale Center for British Art.
Drawing bought for $ 30 at estate sale is worth $ 50 mil. Clifford Schorer not been running late for a friend’s retirement party, he would never have stumbled across a 500 – year-old masterpiece drawing. “The Virgin & Child with a Flower” by Renaissance star Albrecht Dürer #art pic.twitter.com/HUFjVEOJPY
— Legacy Coins LLC (@LegacyCoinsLLC) December 16, 2021
“I forgot to bring my gift,” said Schorer. “It was 5: 05 pm and I didn’t think I’d find nothing open. ”
After consulting Google, Schorer purchased a book of William Blake poetry from a rare book dealer, Brainerd Phillipson. Schorer says Phillipson asked him if he knew anything about art.
“Brainerd told me that his friend has a drawing of Albrecht Dürer,” he noted.
“I told him no. It has no drawing. It has an engraving. There are no drawings of Dürer that are unknown and of private property. ”
Only some of the drawings of Dürer have been put up for sale since 1978, when a watercolor sold for around $ 1.3 million.
Brainerd gave Schorer’s number to his friend and a few days later “I received a text message with an image that looked like a typical“ Virgin and Child ”print, but Schorer said that It was so pixelated that I couldn’t see much.
“I sat at his table, looked at the drawing and was silent.”
The The man who had the drawing said he bought it at a property sale in Concord, Massachusetts for $ 30 dollars in 2016.
The buyer had no idea of the value of the drawing , said Schorer, adding that it was about to sell it to someone else who just wanted it for the frame .
Schorer sent the drawing to London to be authenticated by art curator Jane McAusland , who told her that the piece appeared artificially aged.
“Initially, I thought it was okay,” McAusland said. “Then I noticed that fake fox marks (signs of aging) were painted on.”
According to McAusland, fox marks were made in the 20th century. XIX, because someone “had no faith” in the supposed age of the drawing.
“That made me think it was false. Also, there was a modern sticker behind the paper. That didn’t help either. ”
But Schorer didn’t want to give up on the piece and asked McAusland for a second look.
It turned out that on the piece was found a watermark that only Albrecht Dürer’s drawings know , a trident with a ring next to it.
When McAusland found the watermark, he immediately called Schorer. “He almost dropped the phone,” he said.
Since then the work has been featured on a world tour and is currently on display at the Agnews Gallery in London.
It will arrive in Manhattan next month to be exhibited at the Colnaghi Gallery starting on 21 January.
As for the original seeker, who has chosen to remain anonymous, Schorer has made a contract with him, the terms of which he will not disclose, and only called it “an interesting deal.”
Schorer plans to sell the part in the future, although he’s not sure when. “That art world moves slowly,” he said. “If you hope to sell it in a given year, you will be out of luck.”
He thinks he will end up in a museum or with an experienced art collector. “This is the find of my life,” said Schorer. “Wherever it ends, I’d like to visit.”
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