Long-lost painting by Chicago artist Gertrude Abercrombie found at Michigan estate sale goes to auction

A long-lost painting by Chicago artist Gertrude Abercrombie, picked up at an estate sale, is now on the auction block and already bringing in six-figure bids.

A picker went to a Kalamazoo, Michigan, estate sale looking for vinyl records, but a painting caught his eye. He thought he recognized the name on the back and unexpectedly uncovered a masterpiece.

At first glance, the painting looks like a typical still life, but look closer and there are mysterious effects at play. Each shell has its own light source, positioned at opposing angles. The stark black background looks like infinite space, but only one tiny shell seems to be nailed into the void.

Experts say these are all characteristics of Abercrombie's surrealist style, and this work includes the very first time the Chicago artist painted the cracked seashell that became a recurring motif in her career.

"I saw the subject line, 'Found Gertrude Abercrombie,' and, you know, was our opening it pessimistically. And as soon as I clicked on it, I was like, oh my God. This is this is it," said Zack Wirsum of Freeman's Auction House.

Abercrombie was a renowned midcentury painter who lived in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, was deeply involved in the city's jazz scene and friends with many musicians. Jazz music influenced her own creative work. According to the Art Institute of Chicago, she was known for her self-portraits and her increasingly surrealist style. Many of her shell paintings were very small, some so tiny they could be made into broaches.

Wirsum said the painting found in Michigan has been missing for decades. While many have tried to track it down, it was perfectly preserved in the estate of Kalamazoo doctor John T. Reynolds.

The piece was featured in a Chicago Tribune article after an exhibition with the actual shells Abercrombie used for inspiration; shells belonging to Ald. Robert Merriam, hence the work's name, "Alderman Merriam's Shells."

The artist and the politician were acquaintances. Abercrombie was photographed with Merriam's young son in 1952, around the same time the work was created.

"It was in six of her major exhibitions from 1952 and 1953," Wirsum said. "It carried a price tag of $150, which, you know, is five times what the consignor paid for it today. And our estimate on it now has three extra zeroes."

Wirsum said the painting captures a unique moment in Abercrombie's career, making it even more value.

"And, you know, it's objectively beautiful," he added. "Just stunning. And I'm going to be sad to have to say goodbye to it tomorrow when it sells."

And what would the artist, who died in 1977, make of the attention; 75 years out of sight and now set to make a splash on the auction block?

"I could see her pouring herself a couple of gimlets," Wirsum said. "And toasting the picker for his find."

At last check there was already a bid for $160,000.

Wirsum said stories like this are why he always recommends people bring in an auction house before setting up an estate sale.