A Georgia O'Keeffe painting valued between $3 million and $5 million has been discovered in the closet of a New York City apartment, where it had been stored for nearly 40 years. The abstract piece, titled 'Near Abiquiu, New Mexico,' was found in 2022 by Betsy, 65, while she was organizing her late aunt's belongings in the East Village.
Betsy recalled her aunt mentioning a box stored away under fur coats, which contained the painting. The artwork, measuring 10 by 24 inches, features O'Keeffe's signature star-shaped design on its reverse, along with a signature from her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz. According to Christie's New York, the painting depicts the Lobo Peak mountains and expansive skies, common subjects in O'Keeffe's work inspired by the New Mexico landscape.
The painting was a graduation gift to Betsy's aunt from her mother, who purchased it for $3,800 at The Downtown Gallery in New York City on April 15, 1963. Experts at Christie's confirmed the painting's authenticity by reviewing its provenance and original bill of sale.
Betsy's aunt reportedly stopped displaying the artwork in the 1980s after a guest eyed it too closely, leading her to store it away. She was described as a private and accomplished career woman who lived a cosmopolitan life.
The artwork was last publicly known from a photograph taken by Stieglitz in 1931. It will be on public display at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan from November 7 to November 17 before being auctioned by Christie's on November 17 during its 20th Century evening sale.