Antiques Collector Bought a Painting for $50 at a Garage Sale. It Could Be a Van Gogh Masterpiece Worth $15M

Mar. 15, 2025

Vincent van Gogh, Elimar 1889.Photo:Courtesy LMI Group International, Inc

Courtesy LMI Group International, Inc

A painting bought for $50 at a garage sale might actually be a Vincent van Gogh masterpiece worth $15 million.

The outlet reports that the painting was made in 1889 and is likely named after the man in the portrait.

It’s also assumed that the creation was done while van Gogh was at the Saint-Paul psychiatric sanitarium in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France.

Per ARTNews, the Dutch artist remained in the psychiatrist hospital between May 1889 and May 1890 and there painted 150 canvases, includingIrises(1889),The Starry Night(1889) andAlmond Blossom(1890).

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In a 458-pagereport,one of the findings noted was thatElimar’s pigments and fibers match the ones produced in van Gogh’s period. All but one of the pigments used to paint the work also match.

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.Stefano Guidi/Getty

Stefano Guidi/Getty

Anderson added, “This moving likeness embodies van Gogh’s recurring theme of redemption, a concept frequently discussed in his letters and art. ThroughElimar, van Gogh creates a form of spiritual self-portrait, allowing viewers to see the painter as he wished to be remembered.”

“People love it when things fall through the cracks, and it would be wonderful if they found a van Gogh — but they’ve got to pin everything down and get a scholar at the Van Gogh Museum to sign off on it,” he said.

In a statement sent to PEOPLE on Friday, Jan. 31, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam said that they had “considered the new information mentioned in the LMI Group’sElimarreport.”

source: people.com