A "seemingly routine" purchase of a small piece of art at a Pennsylvania sale earlier this year set Heidi Markow back just 12 bucks, but it now looks like it was a dozen dollars very well spent. The antiques store dealer says she was checking out an auction with her partner and son in Montgomery County in January, when her eye was attracted to three pieces, including a 17 1/2-by-16 1/2-inch charcoal drawing of a woman, per ABC News. "I just knew that I wanted it," Markow says. "This piece just stood out to me as something special."
Per ARTnews, Markow's son bid on the three artworks—and won them—for just $12 while Markow checked out the rest of the auction, but it wasn't until she got home that she noticed a faint signature on the charcoal drawing, as well as details about the frame, paper, and stamp on the back that led her to believe she might have something special indeed: a piece by Renoir. After watching a slew of Renoir documentaries over the next few months, Markow reached out to Sotheby's, which directed her to an art appraiser who gave their confirmation that yes, she was indeed the proud new owner of an artwork by the French Impressionist.
Markow is now waiting for the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, which researches historical art documents, to weigh in. If she gets a thumbs-up from the nonprofit, Markow says she'll sell the drawing, which she thinks was of Renoir's wife and dates back to the late 19th century, to someone who "appreciates Impressionist art." She believes the drawing will go for "six or seven figures" if it's deemed authentic by the WPI. (More Pierre-Auguste Renoir stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
