A Painting Bought for 70,000 Won in a Garage Turns Out to Be an Authentic Van Gogh... Actual Value '21.6 Billion Won'

If Authentic, Worth at Least $15 Million
Experts Conclude 'Genuine' After Over Four Years of Analysis

A painting purchased for just $50 (about 70,000 won) at a garage sale in Minnesota, USA, is claimed to be an authentic portrait by Vincent van Gogh. If this work is genuine, it would be worth at least $15 million (about 21.6 billion won).

On the 30th (local time), according to US CNN and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), experts commissioned by the art research company LMI Group International analyzed the canvas weaving method, paint pigments, and other characteristics of the work, concluding that the painting was created by van Gogh while he was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital in southern France in 1889.

A portrait presumed to be a work by Vincent van Gogh. LMI

This oil painting on canvas depicts a white-bearded fisherman smoking a pipe while mending nets at sea. The painting, purchased by an antique collector in 2016, has the word "Elimar" written on the lower right corner. The size of the work is 45.7cm x 41.9cm.

LMI began analysis after acquiring the painting in 2019. After four years of work, experts confirmed that the painting is a work of van Gogh. According to LMI, the painting is based on a work by Danish painter Michael Ancher (1849?1927) and is one of several pieces in which van Gogh reinterpreted another artist’s work. Additionally, the canvas contains attached hair, which experts also analyzed. The hair was identified as human male hair, but DNA comparison with van Gogh’s descendants was impossible due to the degraded condition of the hair.

Despite these analyses, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, has not recognized the painting as a work by van Gogh. The museum refused to acknowledge the painting as van Gogh’s work when the previous owner approached them in December 2018. Nevertheless, LMI remains confident that the painting is authentic.

In its report, LMI stated, "It is not surprising that a previously unknown van Gogh painting has been discovered," adding, "Van Gogh lost many works and gave some to friends. It is well known that he did not pay particular attention to his works during his lifetime." They further explained, "This painting is an emotionally rich and very personal work created during the final turbulent chapter of van Gogh’s life."

Van Gogh painted about 900 works during his lifetime. He ended his life at the age of 37 in 1890.