'Remarkable' Rembrandt Portrait Found in Maine Attic During 'Routine House Call' Sells for $1.4M
"This is a prime example of the remarkable treasures that can be uncovered through house call," Kaja Veilleux of Thomaston Place Auction Galleries tells PEOPLE
Thomaston Place Auction Galleries
Kaja Veilleux at the podium having just sold Lot 2363, After Rembrandt, for $1.4 million.A rare portrait found in an attic recently sold for $1.4 million at auction.
A portrait of a young girl painted by Rembrandt was recently discovered on Aug. 30 by Kaja Veilleux of the Thomaston Place Auction Galleries during “a routine house call at a private estate in Camden, Maine,” according to a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
"On house calls, we often go in blind, not knowing what we'll find," Veilleux said in a statement. "The home was filled with wonderful pieces, but it was in the attic, among stacks of art, that we found this remarkable portrait."
Thomaston Place Auction Galleries
After Rembrandt, sold for $1.4 million.Related: Painting Stolen 60 Years Ago Returned to N.Y. Gallery After Turning up in U.K. Sale
The portrait, which depicted a young girl in a black dress with a white ruffled collar and a white cap, was described as being “in remarkable condition despite its age" by the auction house.
Their statement noted that a label on the frame proved it was the work of Rembrandt, and that it had been “previously loaned to an exhibition in 1970 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art."
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Upon uncovering the artistic find, the portrait, titled "After Rembrandt," was added to the annual Summer Grandeur sale held by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries — and a bidding war ensued.
"It was amazing," said Zebulon Casperson, who represented the winning bidder, identified only as a private European collector.
"Out of all the phone bids I've handled, I never imagined I'd help close a deal for over a million dollars. It feels like a shared victory," added Casperson.
The sale is believed to have "set a new record for the most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction in Maine," per the auction house.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Veilleux says, "This is a prime example of the remarkable treasures that can be uncovered through house calls in New England."
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