FOUND > Pollock Painting May Fetch $15 Million

Discovered in garage... saved from dumpster

Video
The Jackson Pollock painting (pictured) was found in a garage.

June 9, 2017
By James Massey, What Sells Best News

SUN CITY, ARIZONA (VIDEO) – A Jackson Pollock painting narrowly escaped a dumpster when it was found in a garage. Now, it may fetch $15 million in an upcoming auction.

In a Good Morning Arizona interview, Josh Levine, owner of J. Levine's Auction and Appraisals, told how the painting was discovered after they were called on to appraise items for an estate.

They found the painting amongst a group of other paintings. Works they recognized by, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Hazel Guggenheim McKinley and Cora Kelley Ward.

The Pollock painting, unsigned, was a mystery. Nonetheless, it caught their eye. As Levine stated, it 'spoke to them.' Thankfully they listened. Because otherwise, "it would've hit the dumpster."

Then it All Came-Together

They started researching the history of the painting. After learning the owner inherited the painting from Jennifer Gordon, his half-sister. Things started getting really interesting.

Eliza Murphy with ABC News reports, Gordon was a well connected New York socialite and art collector. Also good friends with Peggy Guggenheim and the modern art critic Clement Greenberg.

They learned, all the other paintings found in the garage were works by friends of Gorden. Artist she known on a first-name basis, who coincidentally ran in the same circles as Jackson Pollock.

Then, one of Gordon's friends was found. Barbara McKay, an Australian artist, remembered Gordon receiving an authentic Pollock. Which she confirmed through phone calls, emails and photographs.

In the end, Levine spent 18 months, and $50,000 on private investigators and forensic art scientist, to research and authenticate the painting for auction.

A Pollock can fetch Tens of Millions

Jackson Pollock paintings can ignite bidding wars ending with sky high prices, sometimes in the tens of millions. Here's a few examples:

It's past sales results like these, that will have many watching this auction with great anticipation.

The Auction and How To Watch

The Pollock painting (22 ½ x 32 inches) found in the garage, was scheduled to be sold by J. Levine's Auction and Appraisal House on June 20, 2017. You can find a link to the auction here.

UPDATE: AZ Central reports the auction was postponed due to improper vetting of bidders prior to the auction. Full story here.