6 Priceless Artworks Found in People’s Attics and Garages

Masterpieces of art aren’t always displayed in galleries or owned by high-profile collectors. In some extraordinary cases, these works have gone unnoticed—either because the artist’s fame only came posthumously, the technology to authenticate them didn’t exist at the time, or simply because their owners didn’t realize they were in possession of such rare treasures.

Here are six remarkable stories of forgotten paintings that emerged after years of being tucked away in attics, basements, or garages. Perhaps after reading these, you'll be inspired to clean out your own storage spaces in hopes of uncovering hidden gems.

1. A DISPUTED CARAVAGGIO MASTERPIECE

In 2014, while attempting to repair a leaky roof, homeowners in Toulouse, France, stumbled upon something far more significant than a mere puddle. Hidden in the attic rafters was a painting that may have been created by the renowned Italian artist Caravaggio.

The painting—thought to be a version of Caravaggio’s Judith Beheading Holofernes (1599–1602), currently displayed at Rome’s National Gallery of Ancient Art—was carefully restored and examined in Paris, where experts fiercely debated its origins. Some argue that the 17th-century Flemish Baroque painter Louis Finson, who studied and emulated Caravaggio, is the true creator, while others maintain it was Caravaggio himself who painted it during the early 1600s. (Finson’s will suggests he owned a copy of Judith Beheading Holofernes, which mysteriously vanished around 400 years ago.)

Art historian Eric Turquin believes the attic find is indeed authentic Caravaggio, pointing to its brushwork, meticulous details, and dynamic lighting as strong evidence. However, some experts, like British art critic Jonathan Jones, argue that the piece lacks Caravaggio’s hallmark “psychological intensity” and realistic style. As the debate continues, the disputed painting remains at the center of controversy. In 2016, art historian Giovanni Agosti resigned from the board of Milan’s Brera Art Gallery after it showcased the disputed work alongside verified Caravaggio paintings.

That being said, don’t expect the controversial Judith Beheading Holofernes replica to be displayed internationally anytime soon: The French government has enforced an export ban on the painting until November 2018, preventing it from being acquired by foreign collectors.

2. A RECENTLY AUTHENTICATED VAN GOGH LANDSCAPE

In 1908, Norwegian entrepreneur Christian Nicolai Mustad acquired a 19th-century painting of the French countryside at sunset, titled Sunset at Montmajour. This piece had previously belonged to Theo van Gogh, Vincent van Gogh’s brother and a well-known art dealer. Although initially thought to be Vincent’s work, the 1888 painting was relegated to the attic after the French ambassador to Sweden visited Mustad’s home and suggested it might be a forgery. The painting remained hidden until Mustad’s death in 1970.

In 1991, new homeowners suspected the painting might be a van Gogh, so they took it to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. There, experts initially confirmed that the work was not authentic, partly because it lacked a signature. However, a few years later, advancements in technology allowed art historians to reanalyze the painting, leading to a completely different conclusion.

In 2013, van Gogh experts declared that Sunset at Montmajour was indeed painted by the renowned Post-Impressionist artist. They pointed out that it was created on the same type of canvas and with the same techniques used in van Gogh’s works completed in Arles, France. Additionally, it had been listed in Theo van Gogh’s collection in 1890, with “180”—the painting’s number in his inventory—written on its back.

Adding further credibility to their findings, an 1888 letter from Vincent to Theo described the painting in great detail, even mentioning the exact day it was created. (Before this discovery, experts had mistakenly thought van Gogh was referring to another 1888 piece, The Rocks.)

Once its authenticity was confirmed, Sunset at Montmajour was exhibited at the Van Gogh Museum in 2013. To date, it remains the first full-sized painting by the Dutch master to be officially authenticated since 1928.

3. A LOST JACKSON POLLOCK PAINTING

In December 2015, while assisting an elderly neighbor in Sun City, Arizona, with preparations to move into a retirement home, a local man noticed a Los Angeles Lakers poster in the garage, signed by Kobe Bryant. They reached out to Scottsdale’s J. Levine Auction & Appraisal to assess its value, but the sports memorabilia turned out to be one of the least valuable items in the house. However, while searching the garage, the auction house team discovered a painting that seemed to be by Jackson Pollock, along with a collection of works by Color Field artist Kenneth Noland, abstract artist Jules Olitski, and visual artist Cora Kelley Ward.

The homeowner had inherited the collection from his half-sister, New York socialite Jenifer Gordon Cosgriff, who passed away in 1993. Private investigators hired to examine the paintings found that Cosgriff had been friends with influential 20th-century modern art critic Clement Greenberg and artist Hazel Guggenheim McKinley, the sister of arts philanthropist Peggy Guggenheim. Both were connected to the artists whose works had been stored in the garage.

Josh Levine, the owner and CEO of J. Levine Auction & Appraisal, values the potential Pollock painting—despite its damage from moisture, heat, and smoke—at around $10 to $15 million, or possibly more if it’s authenticated. However, proving its authenticity is challenging, as the untitled piece is unsigned and undated (and Pollock himself passed away in 1956), making it a difficult task to confirm as a mid-century masterpiece.

Thanks to Levine, the painting's provenance has been traced, and forensic experts have confirmed that its materials date back to the mid-20th century. (Levine claims he's personally funded these services, totaling up to $50,000.) However, despite these credentials, concerns still linger among art dealers, who remain wary of forgeries and potential legal complications.

"I’m certain it’s a Jackson Pollock, but no one will officially confirm that it’s by Jackson Pollock," Levine shared with The Phoenix New Times in June. Hopefully for Levine, whoever wins the painting at auction won’t mind. (For the time being, its sale has been delayed until all potential bidders have secured the necessary funds to purchase it.)

4. A RE-EMERGING REMBRANDT PAINTING

A small, somewhat damaged oil painting initially expected to fetch only $500 to $800 at auction ended up fetching millions after experts determined it was a long-lost masterpiece by Rembrandt, the renowned Dutch Old Master artist.

Created by Rembrandt during his late teenage years, the 1624 or 1625 painting—titled The Unconscious Patient (An Allegory of the Sense of Smell)—was part of a series the artist likely painted to represent the five senses. (The artwork symbolizing the Sense of Taste remains missing to this day.) It depicts an unconscious young man being revived with what seems to be smelling salts.

Despite being crafted by a master, the artwork initially went unnoticed. Not only was the 9-inch painting framed in a Victorian-style frame, which made it look like a 19th-century Continental School piece, but its surface was flaking, and its wooden backing had cracks. “The picture was remarkably unremarkable,” recalled John Nye, the owner of Nye and Co. auction house in Bloomfield, New Jersey, according to Reuters. “It appeared to be a dark, faded portrait of three people, one of whom was unconscious.”

Additionally, the piece had sat in a basement in New Jersey for many years. But after the homeowners passed away, their adult children hired Nye and Co. to go through the estate for valuables. Nye personally visited the home, but the painting disguised as a mere portrait didn’t stand out amid old furniture, silverware, and other artwork. “At no point before the sale did anyone express interest in the painting,” the appraiser later stated. “We had no inquiries, nor did it cause any excitement during the preview.”

When the painting—then titled Triple Portrait with Lady Fainting—finally appeared at auction, Parisian art dealers quickly suspected it was an early Rembrandt, recognizing its resemblance to other works in the artist's five-senses series. The dealers managed to acquire it for the relatively low price of $870,000 (or just over $1 million, including the sale premium). It was subsequently sold to Thomas Kaplan, a New York financier and Dutch Golden Age art collector, for a reported $3 to $4 million.

Conservationists later uncovered Rembrandt’s initials beneath a layer of varnish on the painting, confirming it was indeed his creation. In 2016, the restored artwork was featured at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, alongside other pieces from Kaplan’s collection, including Rembrandt’s The Stone Operation (An Allegory of the Sense of Touch) and The Three Musicians (An Allegory of the Sense of Hearing).

5. A TROVE OF ARTHUR PINAJIAN ARTWORKS

In 2007, two men who had bought a small, dilapidated cottage in Bellport, New York for about $300,000 found themselves with a lot more than they bargained for. Thomas Schultz and Larry Joseph, originally planning to flip the property, were told they could also take possession of a stash of artworks stored in the cottage’s single-car garage. Inside, they found thousands of paintings, drawings, and journals created by Arthur Pinajian, a reclusive Armenian-American artist and comic book creator.

The cottage had once belonged to Pinajian, who died in 1999 at the age of 85, and his sister Armen, who had supported him financially. Although the artist never gained widespread fame during his lifetime, his works of abstract expressionism steadily grew in recognition and value after his death. Today, he’s remembered for creating the first cross-dressing superhero, Madame Fatal, for Crack Comics, alongside finely crafted works of Abstract Expressionism. Some art critics now place him alongside legends like Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, and Jackson Pollock.

Resentful of his lack of success, Pinajian had reportedly instructed his relatives to dispose of his artworks after his passing. However, his family disregarded his wishes, preserving much of his work. It sat untouched in the garage for years, accumulating dust, mold, and pests.

Schultz and Joseph—who paid an additional $2500 for Pinajian's collection—quickly realized they had uncovered something truly unique: “We had no idea about the value or artistic merit of anything here; it was essentially just a huge mess,” Schultz recalled in a 2007 interview with The New York Times. “But as we started going through it, we came to understand we were looking at the life, work, and passion of an artist who had painted every single day for over 50 years. And we said, ‘We can't let this collection be discarded.’”

The two contemplated transforming the house into a museum to honor Pinajian’s legacy. While the idea never materialized, Schultz was still able to secure the artist's place in history by introducing his work to the esteemed contemporary art scholar William Innes Homer, a relative of one of his friends. Impressed by what he saw, Homer reached out to renowned art historian Peter Hastings Falk, who too recognized Pinajian's work as groundbreaking.

“If you look at the history of abstraction in America, the spotlight has certainly fallen on [Jackson] Pollock, Franz Kline, [Willem] de Kooning, and the other iconic figures of that era, all of whom are now celebrated in the annals of American art,” Falk explained in a 2013 interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

“For a long time, it was thought that no one else could break into that exclusive circle, as everyone had already been discovered and art historians knew everything there was to know,” Falk continued. “The truly exciting part of this is that here we have the leading expert in American art history, who was utterly astonished—just like I was. That’s what makes this such an extraordinary story.”

Falk—who would later become the exhibitions director and chief curator for Pinajian’s estate—estimated the artist’s entire collection to be worth $30 million. Since then, galleries like Gallery 125 in Bellport, New York; Lawrence Fine Art in East Hampton, New York; and the Woodstock Artists Association & Museum in Woodstock, New York have all featured Pinajian's work. Some of his oil paintings have sold for as much as $87,000 when showcased in New York City in 2013.

6. A HISTORIC PAINTING BY HENRY ARTHUR MCARDLE

A long-forgotten battle scene painted by Henry Arthur McArdle, a 19th-century Irish immigrant who became one of Texas's foremost artists, was rediscovered in an unexpected location: a dusty attic in West Virginia.

McArdle is renowned for his monumental painting of the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto, a decisive confrontation in the Texas Revolution, led by General Sam Houston. Finished in 1895, this piece was later donated to Texas—along with another large painting, Dawn at the Alamo (1905)—where it was displayed in the Senate chamber of the Texas State Capitol. These two masterpieces, along with four other McArdle originals, remain on display in the capitol today.

Records suggest that McArdle painted a smaller version of the masterpiece in 1901, which some claim was commissioned by Texas art patron J. T. DeShields. However, after DeShields failed to pay the full price, McArdle is said to have kept the painting for himself. The tale takes a more complicated turn, as it's believed the painting was later passed down to family members who settled in West Virginia, the home state of McArdle's second wife, Isophene Lacy Dunnington. Meanwhile, some experts assumed the painting had been lost in a house fire.

In 2010, McArdle's descendant, Jon Buell, unearthed the long-forgotten painting in his grandmother’s attic, tucked away between the rafters under a tarp. She had long dismissed the piece, claiming it was worthless. (She referred to it as “just a working drawing,” as reported by Fox Business.)

Recognizing the treasure hidden within the attic, Buell sought approval to contact a Texas auction house. The Battle of San Jacinto painting was found to be in remarkable condition, with only minor punctures. It eventually fetched $334,000 when sold to a Texas buyer.