A mysterious unsigned portrait in the style of Rembrandt van Rijn recently sold for nearly $1.5 million at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, more than 100 times its low estimate of $10,000.
The portrait depicts a teenage girl dressed in austere black attire. According to Artnet News, the picture was cataloged as being made “after” Rembrandt; it was dated to the early 1630s, a period when the artist oversaw portrait commissions at Hendrick Uylenburgh’s studio in Amsterdam.
However, on the reverse of the portrait was affixed a label that implied the picture may have come from the hand of the great Old Master himself. According to the sticker, the painting, titled Portrait of a Girl, was once loaned to Philadelphia Museum of Art by Cary Bok of Camden, Maine, a descendant of the Curtis Publishing Company fortune. At that time, according to the label, the painting was attributed to Rembrandt himself, though the Philadelphia Museum of Art said that such a label does not equate to authentication. The museum was also unable to pin down which show included the painting.
Portrait of a Girl was discovered by Kaja Veilleux, the founder and auctioneer of Thomaston Place, during in the attic of a private estate in Camden, Maine, during a routine house call. Bidding opened at $32,500, according to Live Auctioneers, and the price escalated rapidly, driven by 11 bidders—nine on the phone and two in person. Ultimately, the picture went to an anonymous UK collector, despite lingering questions about its authenticity.
Last year, two Rembrandt portraits that were previously unknown were found in a family’s private collection and sold at Christie’s London for $14 million. At the time, they were thought to be the last Rembrandts that were held privately.
Christie’s currently holds the records for both the most expensive and the second-most expensive Rembrandts to have ever sold at auction. Portrait of a man with arms akimbo (1658) sold for £20.2 million ($33.3 million) in London in December 2009, while Portrait of a lady in black costume and a cap and collar (1632) sold for £19.8 million ($28.8 million) in 2000.
