Rembrandt Found in Attic, Sold for $1.4 Million

A work attributed to Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn was found in a farmhouse attic in Camden, Maine, and sold at auction for $1.4 million.

The discovery was made by Kaja Veilleux, auctioneer for Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, during a routine visit to the residence of a wealthy local family. Although the painting was unsigned, Veilleux immediately recognized Rembrandt's typical style, a detail not uncommon for the artist, who often left his signature unsigned on his works.

The work, titled "Portrait of a Young Girl", depicts a girl dressed in a black dress, white ruffled collar and a white cap, painted on an oak panel and framed in a hand-carved, gilded Dutch frame.

On the back of the frame, a label attributed the painting to Rembrandt and included information that supposedly linked the work to an exhibition of his at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1970. However, the museum was unable to confirm this participation with certainty.

The anonymous buyer is a European bidder. With this sale, the work has become the most expensive ever sold by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, but its value could increase exponentially. According to Mark Winter, an expert in art authentication, if the attribution to Rembrandt is confirmed, the painting could be worth up to $15 million.

There are about 300 known authentic paintings by Rembrandt in the world, and new discoveries are extremely rare. One of the latest dates back to 2018, while another work by the master, "The Adoration of the Magi," was sold in 2023 for almost $14 million.

It remains a mystery how "Portrait of a Young Girl" ended up in the attic of a house in Maine, far from the glamor of European art galleries. The discovery was an extraordinary moment for Veilleux, who, in a career spanning more than fifty years, had never had the fortune of stumbling upon a possible Rembrandt.