A woman thought she'd found a thrift-store print that was perfect for her home. Then she took a closer look and realized she'd stumbled upon an original painting. Aubrey, who is known on Instagram as @fruity.housewife, recently wandered through a thrift store and stumbled upon artwork she called the painting of her dreams, imagining it fitting perfectly in her '80s Art Deco home.
She shared her find in an August 20 Instagram post, which she originally thought was a print by Ramon Santiago. But after examining it closely, she noticed an overlay and a signature that did not belong to Santiago. She turned to the internet for help identifying the artist, which led her to New York-based Cordell Cordaro.
Also based in New York, Aubrey decided to reach out to Cordaro directly to confirm whether the painting was his, she explained in a follow-up video. But the confirmation came with another surprise. The painting had originally been valued at around $2,500, making its appearance at a thrift store all the more unexpected.
Cordaro told Newsweek via email that Aubrey was not too far off base when she originally wondered if she had found a painting worth $10,000. He said one of his very early paintings is currently listed on his website for $10,000. Both she and Cordaro were shocked that the original artwork had ended up at a thrift store.
"When I found out she had discovered one of my paintings at a thrift store, I thought it was great," Cordaro said. "I'm not sad at all that it ended up there. I actually love that, for a little while, the piece became accessible to anyone who happened to come across it." For Aubrey, the discovery was already a dream find, and Cordaro was thrilled his artwork found its way to her and a new home.
He asked Aubrey what she would like in return for saving his painting from the thrift store. She hoped to own another piece or print from the same collection, but Cordaro no longer makes artwork in that style. The painting came from an earlier period of his career, when he was working in a postmodern style.
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