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With A.I.'s Help, a Family Realized Their Mysterious Thrift-Store Find Is a Portrait by a Great Scottish Painter
Key takeaways
- Lyon & Turnbull In the 1960s, a young woman with an art degree spotted a painting in a thrift shop in White Plains, New York.
- “My background in art history and studio practice drew me to this piece instantly,” recalls Helene Plotkin, now 88, to PA Media’s Lucinda Cameron.
- Recently, thanks to modern technology, Plotkin discovered just how good her judgment was.
Lyon & Turnbull In the 1960s, a young woman with an art degree spotted a painting in a thrift shop in White Plains, New York. The colorful portrait was of a seated, red-haired subject, wearing dark clothes and an iridescent green headwrap. The woman bought it for less than $100.
“My background in art history and studio practice drew me to this piece instantly,” recalls Helene Plotkin, now 88, to PA Media’s Lucinda Cameron. “The painting had an undeniable, regal presence, but it was the color theory at play that held my attention. … The way the pastels were integrated into the composition was both interesting and bold—it was clearly the work of a significant hand with a deep understanding of light and form.”
Recently, thanks to modern technology, Plotkin discovered just how good her judgment was. Her 60-year-old son Barry uploaded a photo of the artwork to Google’s A.I. program, Gemini. The verdict? It’s a Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell.