Nope! Painting Found at a Garage Sale in MPLS Not Worth Millions

It's garage sale season... or at least it's the beginning of it, and will last for the next few months or so. I love it when small towns get together and have a city-wide garage sale. It's kind of amazing.

Lots of things can be found at a garage sale. But let's be honest, most of it can be considered "other people's junk" but sometimes it can score on some great finds; like baby and small child toys, clothes and other kid stuff. The baby/small child items can be a goldmine. Most are either gently used, or not used at all. So, looking for those types of things can be great.

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Sometimes you can also find some hidden treasures.

That was possibly the case when someone had a sale back in January. There was talk that a specific painting was actually a priceless Van Gogh. Possibly worth about $15 million! The painting was purchased for $50.

According to KARE 11, there has been a lot of research going into this painting, to find out if it actually is an unknown Van Gogh or not. That research has actually cost thousands of dollars to find out that is NOT a Van Gogh. Bummer.

The experts at the Van Gogh Museum have now spoken and don't think much of the claims. The museum already refused to authenticate Elimar in 2019, and told the Star Tribune this week that they did take a look at the new evidence but weren't swayed, writing "We maintain our view that this is not an authentic painting by Vincent Van Gogh."
"At the end of the day, the most important thing is what the experts in Van Gogh think of the artwork," said Robert Snell, co-owner of Revere Auctions.

So, apparently this isn't the first time there has been a push to authenticate this particular painting. Not sure why anyone thought the outcome would be any different, but I guess it doesn't hurt to check. Except in this case when it cost, as mentioned above, thousands of dollars to do that.

IF it had been an actual Van Gogh, the question really would have been "how did it get here and in a garage sale in Minnesota. Still would have been cool, though.