World
$15.99 Goodwill Painting Turns Out to Be a Le Pho Worth Tens of Thousands
An occupational therapist at a Level I trauma hospital in the United States bought a painting for $15.99 at a Goodwill thrift store during the COVID‑19 pandemic. She had been visiting thrift stores to relax after demanding work days and spotted the artwork in the store’s painting section. A small plaque on the piece caught her eye, and she decided to take it home. She hung it above her bed and did not suspect its value.
In 2023, she brought the painting to an appraisal event at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. Fine‑art expert Betty Krulik examined the work and identified it as an oil painting on board titled "Cueillette des Pommes Cannelle" ("Cinnamon Apple Picking"). The painting is dated to around 1950, though Krulik suggested it was probably created in the 1960s. It bears Le Pho’s signature in the lower‑right corner and a gallery label on the back that linked it to Findlay Galleries, which had promoted the artist’s work and still handled his estate at the time of the appraisal.
Le Pho, born in 1907, studied at the École des Beaux‑Arts in Hanoi and later in Paris, where he taught art before settling in the city. His style blends Vietnamese traditions with European influences, and his paintings continue to attract interest in the international market.
Krulik estimated that comparable works could sell for between $60,000 and $80,000 at auction, and suggested an insurance value of around $100,000. These figures are estimates based on comparable sales, not a confirmed sale price.
The appraisal highlighted how a painting’s value can be hidden behind its appearance and purchase price. A signature, gallery association, and expert knowledge can reveal a work’s true worth, turning a $15.99 thrift‑store find into a piece valued at tens of thousands of dollars.