Painting Hanging Above Her Bed Ends Up Lifting Elderly Owner’s Financial Burden
While evaluating a North London bungalow, Siobhan Tyrell, Head of Valuation at auctioneer Dawsons, came across a religious masterpiece hanging above a bed that impressed with its notable quality.
The depiction of the Madonna and Child was immediately recognized as a rare renaissance work from the 16th century, and was later revealed to be an oil-on-canvas painting by a follower of Filippino Lippi (1457 - 1504).
According to ARTnews, Lippi was the illegitimate son of priest Fra Filippo Lippi, who at the time, was famed for his depictions of the Madonna. The elder Lippi went on to mentor renowned painter Sandro Botticelli, who later was the one to impart the same skills to the younger.
Interestingly, the painting’s owner, a 90-year-old woman who had left Italy decades earlier, had inherited the piece from her father when he passed, but thought nothing of its value. As a sufferer of dementia, she had wanted to move to a place with improved care and accommodation, but was hindered by the high costs of living.
Thankfully, this discovery, which eventually sold at auction for £255,000 (US$320,000), meant the vendor no longer has to worry about her ongoing nursing care payments which, in a fortunate coincidence with the work’s subject matter, was a “godsend” to the family.
