A Georgia O’Keeffe painting valued at more than $3 million has resurfaced after spending nearly four decades forgotten in the closet of a New York City apartment.
The remarkable find was made in 2022 by Betsy, 65, who discovered the abstract work tucked inside her late aunt’s East Village home.
Betsy told the New York Post that the 1930 painting, titled ‘Near Abiquiu, New Mexico,’ had been out of sight since the 1980s.
She was sorting through her 98-year-old aunt’s belongings and handling her end-of-life affairs when she remembered a casual remark about a box hidden beneath a line of fur coats.
“That’s when she mentioned, ‘Oh, by the way, there’s a Georgia O’Keeffe in the hall closet,’” Betsy told the outlet.
“I wondered, ‘Is there any way I can keep this?’” Betsy said. But after investigating the painting’s value, she realized it was worth more than her home. Christie’s has estimated the work at between $3 million and $5 million.
Measuring 10 by 24 inches, the painting bears O’Keeffe’s signature star-shaped mark on its reverse, along with the signature of her husband, renowned American photographer Alfred Stieglitz.
‘Near Abiquiu, New Mexico’ depicts the Lobo Peak mountains north of Taos Pueblo, framed by “expansive skies” and “rolling hills”—features that became recurring subjects in O’Keeffe’s work, according to Christie’s New York.
Betsy, 65, made the extraordinary discovery in 2022 after finding the Georgia O’Keeffe painting, valued at more than $3 million, inside her late aunt’s East Village apartment closet
Christie’s New York said O’Keeffe developed a modern abstract style shaped by the landscapes and atmosphere of New Mexico
‘Near Abiquiu, New Mexico’ features Lobo Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, north of Taos Pueblo, with the expansive skies and rolling hills that became enduring subjects for O’Keeffe
According to Christie’s, Betsy’s aunt received the painting as a graduation present from her mother, who purchased it for $3,800 at New York City’s Downtown Gallery on April 15, 1963.
Tylee Abbott, head of American Art at Christie’s, told CBS that specialists examined the painting visually and compared it with historical records to authenticate the work.
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“We actually have documented the original bill of sale from O’Keeffe’s Downtown Gallery in 1963, when the current owner purchased it. All of that tied together provides definitive confirmation that this is indeed a genuine Georgia O’Keeffe,” Abbott told the outlet.
Betsy said the artwork had hung in her aunt’s apartment until the 1980s, when a visitor began “eyeing it a bit too closely,” according to the Post.
Her aunt found the incident “creepy” and never displayed the painting again.
“I think she was fully aware of its value,” Betsy said. “She recognized that it was an expression of her financial position, and she disliked drawing attention to herself.”
Betsy said her aunt had no children and led a successful, “cosmopolitan” life as a career woman in the Foreign Service.
The 10-by-24-inch painting was found in its original box; its reverse bears O’Keeffe’s star-shaped mark and a signature from her husband, celebrated photographer Alfred Stieglitz
Christie’s said Betsy’s aunt received the O’Keeffe as a graduation gift after her mother bought it for $3,800 at New York City’s Downtown Gallery on April 15, 1963
Tylee Abbott said the painting was last documented in a 1931 photograph taken by Alfred Stieglitz at a gallery exhibition
She described her aunt as “extremely private,” “incredibly accomplished” and “ultra intelligent.” The woman traveled extensively and spoke four languages fluently.
The painting will be available for free public viewing at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan from November 7 through November 17.
Abbott said the work was last documented in a 1931 photograph taken by Alfred Stieglitz at a gallery exhibition and has not been publicly seen since.
“O’Keeffe goes to New Mexico in 1929, and this picture is from 1930, so it represents the foundation of her inspiration during those first experiences there—the landscape and the atmosphere,” Abbott told the outlet. “She writes extensively about how impactful that experience was, and I think you can feel it in this picture.”
Following the exhibition, the painting will go under the hammer at Christie’s New York during the auction house’s 20th Century evening sale on November 17.