On Art Finds, And Having A Great Eye

Yesterday's Lexington, Ky. Herald-Leader printed one of those occasional stories about an art find that cheers the spirit and keeps many people buying old paintings. This one isn't anywhere near as good as the recent disclosure that a small picture of a young girl (right), purchased for less than $20,000, may be a Leonardo.   

But still. In this case, a doctor -- against the advice of his wife -- decided to plunk down $900 for a landscape he saw in an antiques store. It was dirty, and when he had it cleaned, the restorer discovered a signature: Robert Scott Duncanson, a painter the Herald-Leader said was "a noted 19th-century artist who was the first African-American painter to gain international recognition."

Good for the buyer, Dr. Jim Huffman, for going with his instincts. The untitled painting (left) is said to be worth $100,000 and is now on loan to the Speed Art Museum.

Again, good for Huffman, who was described in the article as an "amateur collector." I'm not sure what that means, because not that many collectors are "professionals." But if it means that he's untrained, which probably means self-trained, he has plenty of company.

At least he seems to have a good eye -- an attribute not all professionals have, let alone all collectors. One expert, a museum director now who (I think) happens to have a great eye, once joked with me about people in the art world -- collectors and dealers alike -- who just don't have it. His description of them, probably not unique or original to him, was "he has the eye of a vole." I still love that. Lucky are those that are born with a great eye -- and nurture it.  

Here's the link to the Herald-Leader article.