June 11, 2009

One Person's Treasure II


A manager of a Goodwill store in Toronto found two treasures in the charity shop’s overnight donation bin. Helen Zhuang knew the minute she laid her eyes on the two framed oil paintings last Fall, that she had found something special. The extraordinary paintings were framed and Zhuang found them positively luminous.

The two paintings were taken to Waddingtons Auctioneers and Appraisers for assessment and it was revealed that the two oils were by Peruvian artist Federico del Campo.

One painting shows a sunny Venetian backwater complete with gondoliers; the other, two ships moored quayside on a canal. The 16-by-23-inch oils are both signed by the artist and dated 1895. Del Campo was born in Peru in 1837. He traveled to Madrid to study art and lived mostly in Italy until his death in 1927, catering to the artistic tastes of wealthy European and North American tourists, perhaps on the “Grand Tour”.

This Tuesday, June 9th, the paintings were sold by Waddington’s to an anonymous overseas buyer via telephone. After brisk international bidding, the combined total was $159,100. (Gavel prices were $80,700 and $78,400)

"There was great competition today," said Susan Robertson, head of the International Art Department at Waddington's. "The artist (Del Campo) is well-known and we expected interest."

Congratulations to Goodwill! Proceeds from the sale of the Del Campos will support Goodwill programs to assist those facing employment barriers

There is no way to find out who donated the paintings.

13 comments:

Ima Wizer said...

Oh MY! What a great story! And the paintings are so beautiful!!

mouse (aka kimy) said...

wow, what an amazing story....so glad the proceeds from the find went to goodwill! thanks for sharing!

Kat Mortensen said...

This is one of the reasons why I hit my local Goodwill store at least once a week.
They are beautiful, aren't they?

Kat

☆sapphire said...

Oh What a nice story and charming paintings! I like the two very much. No coincidence. Act of divine providence was!

Brian Miller said...

that is awesome! a little angel looking over the well being of others must have slipped those in there. love it!

Tess Kincaid said...

Wow! Do you think the person who donated them knew the value? They're beautiful. Fun story!

Sandra Leigh said...

Surely, though, if the donor knew what the paintings were, he/she would have said something - lest the paintings be sold at the usual Goodwill prices. I suspect that the donation was more generous than the donor intended. It wouldn't be the first time that happened.

nonizamboni said...

Hooray for Good Will and the good will of strangers. Amazing story and beautiful paintings.

Liza B. Gonzalez said...

This is why I love watching Antique Roadshow. It so much fun to see the excitement on people's faces when their treasures are golden. Kudos for Goodwill!

orange sugar home said...

what a great story!! I love stories like this. That's why antiques road show is so wonderful - full of suspense and mystery!

alaine@éclectique said...

A lovely story - so glad they got them valued, all to a good cause.

sallymandy said...

Fabulous story, and those are beautiful colors in the paintings. Thanks for sharing.

T. said...

I absolutely love when things like this happen. And what a bonus for Goodwill, an organization that deserves every penny it gets.