Pierre-Auguste Renoir
When people send me recent stories of some amazing find at a thrift store or a garage sale, my first reaction is to be incredibly skeptical. This is the same advice I gave when writing about the alleged Van Gogh found at a garage sale (which the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has rejected as an original work by the artist). However, every once in a while, you really do get a story of an amazing find in an unlikely place. That seems to be the case with a drawing, possibly by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, found by an antique shop owner in Easton, Pennsylvania.
Could it be a Renoir?
Earlier in the week, local news outlets in northeastern Pennsylvania began reporting about Heidi Markow, owner of Salvage Good Antiques. In January, Markow went to a local auction and found a charcoal sketch of a nude woman. Despite not knowing much about the work, she said she was drawn to it and bought it for $12. Only afterward did she see the faint Renoir signature in the bottom right-hand corner. After a few months of research, Markow, a certified art appraiser, concluded that this might be a genuine work by the Impressionist master. Based on the attention to detail in the shading, she has dated it to Renoir’s Ingres period, placing it at around 1883 or 1884. She has also guessed that the subject may be Aline Charigot, a model that Renoir extensively worked with and later married in 1890. She also appears in Renoir’s 1881 work Luncheon of the Boating Party, where she plays with a dog on the left-hand side. Markow also has stated that markings on the drawing’s verso indicate that the work was likely brought to the United States by Louis Madeira IV, a collector from the affluent Philadelphia suburb of Gladwyne. Madeira was married to Helen Tyson, whose family had extensive ties to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Tyson family donated a substantial amount of European art to the PMA over the years, including Monet’s Japanese Footbridge and one of Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings. Though Madeira’s name was on the back, he was more well-known as a connoisseur of decorative pieces like silver and porcelain. How the drawing went from the Madeira-Tyson family collection to a local Montgomery County auction is unknown.
Wanting to do her due diligence, Markow reached out to Sotheby’s, who put her in contact with an appraiser. This unknown specialist has reportedly confirmed this is likely a genuine Renoir drawing. Markow has also reached out to the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, turning over the drawing for further study. The WPI is expected to reach a conclusion by mid-April. Markow has stated that she plans to sell the drawing and hopes to receive a hefty sum for her find. If the WPI confirms that this drawing is an authentic work by Renoir, it will be added to the artist’s catalogue raisonné.