Painting bought for $3,800 in 1963 hidden under fur coats for 40 years, now valued at $3 million

A Georgia O’Keeffe painting acquired by a New York family for $3,800 in 1963 has resurfaced after spending nearly 40 years hidden beneath fur coats in an East Village apartment closet. The work, titled Near Abiquiu, New Mexico I, is now being offered by Christie’s in its 20th Century Evening Sale with an estimate of $2 million to $3 million, according to the auction house and reporting by the New York Post.The discovery began in 2022, when Betsy, a 65-year-old woman from Rhode Island, was helping her elderly aunt prepare her Manhattan apartment for health aides.

Her aunt casually mentioned that there was a Georgia O’Keeffe in the closet, a remark that eventually led to the recovery of a painting that had never been publicly displayed.A graduation gift from Downtown GalleryChristie’s records show that the painting was acquired by the family of the present owners from Downtown Gallery in New York on April 15, 1963. The purchase price was $3,800, and the work was given to the eventual owner as a graduation present by her mother.