How a $30 oil painting fetched over $1.35M at US auction; all about ‘Alderman Merriam’s Shells’

An oil painting that was purchased for just $30 at an estate sale fetched more than $1.35 million at auction after it was confirmed that it was the work of famous surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie. The painting is an 8-by-11-inch still-life, and was discovered in a “dark corner” of a Michigan home in July, according to Freeman’s, the auction house that brought the painting to market this month, CNN reported.

How a $30 oil painting fetched over $1.35M at US auction; all about ‘Alderman Merriam’s Shells’ (Pexel - representational image)An expert went on to identify it as Abercrombie’s “Alderman Merriam’s Shells.” It had been unseen in public for almost 75 years.

The painting, completed in 1951, depicts a collection of ten seashells. It is a common motif used by Abercrombie, who is often described as American art’s “Bohemian Queen.” It was exhibited at six of the painter’s solo exhibitions over the next couple of years. At the time, it was priced between $50 and $150.

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The artist, however, never sold the work. Instead, she gifted it to a doctor in Kalamazoo, Michigan in exchange for medical services. The painting was then passed down through the doctor’s estate after his death, and then eventually appeared at July’s estate sale.

The buyer has remained anonymous. The auctioneer described the buyer as “a longtime hunter of record albums and mid-century furniture.”

Freeman’s said that the painting had been discovered “tucked in a dark corner of a hallway leading to the garage — overlooked by every other buyer that day.”

The signature – “Abercrombie, ‘51” – was hardly visible against the dark background. Upon seeing the signature, the buyer took a $30 gamble.

Freeman’s said that they diverted a family vacation to visit Milwaukee Art Museum, where an Abercrombie exhibition was on show. In an exhibition catalog there, a 1952 news clipping showed a photo of the painting next to the real-life shells it depicts.

The bargain hunter eventually took the artwork to Freeman’s auction house. It was one of the exhibition sponsors.

The work was authenticated as genuine by Abercrombie expert Susan Weininger, an art history professor at Roosevelt University. Art restorer Julian Baumgartner later cleaned the painting.

“It was drab, missing its life, but now cleaned, retouched, and revarnished, it’s alive and radiant,” Baumgartner said.

Freeman’s valued the painting at $150,000 to $250,000. However, bids at last Thursday’s sale far surpassed estimates, setting a new auction record for Abercrombie’s work.

Sotheby’s sold another of Abercrombie’s paintings in 2025 – “Message for Mercy” – for a then-record $1.02 million. It was more than triple its high estimate.

In a press release before the sale, the auction house’s senior vice president Zachary Wirsum said the rediscovery of the painting was “magnificent.” He recalled telling visitors at the Milwaukee exhibition that Abercrombie’s paintings sometimes do crop up at estate sales.

“Little did I know that one of those ‘once in a while’s would occur less than a month later,” Wirsum said.

Sumanti Sen covers everything that’s happening in the US, from politics to entertainment, but her expertise lies in covering crime news. She has comprehensively chronicled the Idaho student murders, the Laken Riley and Iryna Zarutska cases, and the killing of Charlie Kirk, among other incidents. Over the years, she has interviewed several victims/families of victims of crimes seeking justice. She digs up stories that might otherwise remain unheard, and does her bit to ensure that victims and survivors’ voices are heard. Sumanti’s many years of experience also include interviews with Hamas attack survivors and mental health experts, among others. Her coverage of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and interviews with survivors of the tragedy, coupled with her other works including the Titan submersible coverage, earned her the Digi Journo of the Quarter award during her first year at Hindustan Times. Sumanti actively tracks missing person cases in the United States, and peruses Reddit and other social media platforms to bring to light cases that frequently elude public attention. She has extensively covered the disappearances of Nancy Guthrie, Thomas Medlin, Beau Mann, and Sudiksha Konanki, among others. When not at work, you will either find her with her novels, or with her beloved rescue pooches.Read More