This painting cost only $1 in an Ohio thrift store, but it's priceless for one Calgary family
Buyer searched artist's signature and found his granddaughter, CBC food guide Julie Van Rosendaal
It's a painting that only cost a dollar to buy, but it's priceless for one Calgary family.
The painting in question is one of a bouquet of flowers, and Melissa Pawley bought it from a Goodwill in Cincinnati, Ohio.
When she did a reverse Google Image search of the signature, she came across a painting of poppies with the same signature. She sent a message to the poster.
"I figured she would either think I was crazy, or she would be happy," said Pawley.
The woman on the other end of the conversation was Julie Van Rosendaal, CBC Calgary's food guide. She recognized Pawley's thrifted artwork right away.
"It was fairly clearly my grandfather's painting," said Van Rosendaal.
Her grandfather, Frans Van Rosendaal, disappeared while flying a small plane in Hawaii in the late 1960s and was never found. Now, his family has another piece of his life to remember him.
Are you ready for an amazing story?? ARE YOU?? So a few days ago, someone I didn’t know messaged me on Facebook… She had picked up an old oil painting at a Goodwill in Cincinnati for $1, brought it home and did a reverse Google image search on the signature. <a href="https://t.co/iKObhgLEpX">pic.twitter.com/iKObhgLEpX</a>
—@dinnerwithjulieVan Rosendaal has no idea how her grandfather's painting ended up in Cincinnati, but it's on its way home. Pawley is sending the painting to Calgary — at no charge.
When the painting arrives, Van Rosendaal is giving it to her dad as a birthday gift.
With files from Andrew Brown