top of page

$50 painting from Hamptons barn sale nabbed by NY art dealer to fetch six figures at auction: ‘Cinderella discovery’

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

A longtime New York-based art dealer stumbled upon a painting at a Hamptons barn sale for which he paid just $50 — and now the rare piece is expected to be auctioned off for six figures.

Allen Treibitz spotted and purchased the artwork — depicting a carved grizzly bear atop of a memorial totem pole — a few months back, despite being unfamiliar with the famed artist who painted the piece, CTV News reported.

After conducting some research and consulting with an auction house in Canada, Treibitz quickly realized his “Cinderella discovery” of a lost Emily Carr painting — titled “Masset, Q.C.I.” — was worth up to $200,000. 


bottom of page