Pictures Bought for $45 at Garage Sale Worth $200 Million

For all you yard sale/garage sale lovers, you never know what you will find! This guy has hit the jackpot!

Antique shopper Rick Norsigian has entered the pickers Hall of Fame.

The Fresno, Calif., painter paid $45 for 65 glass negatives at a garage sale 10 years ago – and now has expert confirmation the images were created by famed photographer Ansel Adams.

Current value: at least $200 million.

www.people.com...

reply to post by berkeleygal


Just goes to show how people put "value" behind something. The pictures were worth $45 until they were found out to be from a famous person. Now they are worth millions?

Shouldn't the actual art be the determining factor on price, not the artist?

It's like Andy Warhol. How many times can you paint a Cambels soup can and call it art? But those soup can pictures are worth a lot just because it's a Warhol. Would you pay the same price for a Nutter soup can picture?

[edit on 27-7-2010 by Nutter]

Evidently the people who sold them had no idea what they had.. I bet they feel really dumb now.. Although this happened 10 years ago.

I dunno, either this guy lives under a rock (the buyer) or was not much of an art fan.. I know that if I had bought those I would have immediately realized they were Ansel Adams work.. And I would be rich rich rich!

I saw this on the news this evening. I'm happy for the guy. I'd sell one just to pay the bills and establish a value for insurance protection.

In today's economy, I wouldn't get too excited about selling all of them. I think the $200 million is a little high for right now.

I remember once there was an ad in the local classifieds for "1967 Chevy - $500 or best offer". It turned out to be a 1967 Chevy Camaro in mint condition, less than 500 miles on it. Apparently an elderly ladys husband had died, and he had it in storage. It's actual value was over $50K

Update to this story

Adams heirs skeptical about lost negatives claim

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. —
A trove of old glass negatives bought at a garage sale for $45 has been authenticated as the lost work of Ansel Adams and worth at least $200 million, an attorney for the owner said Tuesday, but the iconic photographer's representatives dismissed the claim as a fraud and said they're worthless.

Arnold Peter, who represents Fresno painter and construction worker Rick Norsigian, said a team of experts who studied the 65 negatives over the past six months concluded "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the photos were Adams' early work, believed to have been destroyed in a 1937 fire at his Yosemite National Park studio.

www.comcast.net...

Originally posted by Nutter
Just goes to show how people put "value" behind something. The pictures were worth $45 until they were found out to be from a famous person. Now they are worth millions?
Shouldn't the actual art be the determining factor on price, not the artist?

It's like Andy Warhol. How many times can you paint a Cambels soup can and call it art? But those soup can pictures are worth a lot just because it's a Warhol. Would you pay the same price for a Nutter soup can picture?

I think you'll find that Adam's work...and the original negs, will be part of the American saga long after Warhol's works have reached their best-before date.