“On house calls, we often go in blind, not knowing what we’ll find,” said Veilleux, from Thomaston Place Auction Galleries. “The home was filled with wonderful pieces but it was in the attic, among stacks of art, that we found this remarkable portrait.”
The painting had been in private family ownership since the 1920s, and the painting stayed with the family after being displayed in Philadelphia, the business said. The owner was not identified.
As to how it ended up in the attic, that, too, was a mystery.
Rembrandt, born in 1606, was a prolific artist who focused on a variety of subjects, from portraits to landscapes to historical and biblical scenes.
“Portrait of a Girl” was painted on an oak panel and mounted in a hand-carved gold Dutch frame, said Veilleux.
An auction by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries yielded a fierce competition on Aug. 24, he said. In the end, a European collector paid $1.41 million for the painting.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP