bluffname
28-07-2010, 12:40 PM
Just saw this on the news:
$200m Adams' negatives found
LOS ANGELES - A SCHOOL district painter appeared to have struck lucky after 65 glass negatives he bought for $45 (S$61) at a garage sale were judged the work of American nature photographer Ansel Adams valued at $200 million, but Adams' family has cast doubt on the find.
Rick Norsigian bought the negatives at a garage sale in Fresno, California, about 10 years ago, bargaining the seller down from $70.
He kept them under a pool table at his home initially and then in a safe deposit box at a local bank when he realized they might be valuable.
His hunch appeared to have been right and the negatives, showing black and white images of Yosemite National Park, Fisherman's Wharf and other scenes in San Francisco, were this week declared by a Beverly Hills art appraiser to be the work of Adams and worth around $200 millon. 'When I heard that (figure), I got a little weak,' Mr Norsigian told reporters.
However the head of the Ansel Adams Gallery, Matthew Adams, who is the late photographer's grandson, was skeptical of the claim, and said in a statement that he was not convinced after being presented with evidence by Mr Norsigian's team last year.
'I think it's irresponsible to claim that they're Ansel's. We think it's a very significant claim and we think it's not accurate,' he told AOL News. -- REUTERS
$200m Adams' negatives found
LOS ANGELES - A SCHOOL district painter appeared to have struck lucky after 65 glass negatives he bought for $45 (S$61) at a garage sale were judged the work of American nature photographer Ansel Adams valued at $200 million, but Adams' family has cast doubt on the find.
Rick Norsigian bought the negatives at a garage sale in Fresno, California, about 10 years ago, bargaining the seller down from $70.
He kept them under a pool table at his home initially and then in a safe deposit box at a local bank when he realized they might be valuable.
His hunch appeared to have been right and the negatives, showing black and white images of Yosemite National Park, Fisherman's Wharf and other scenes in San Francisco, were this week declared by a Beverly Hills art appraiser to be the work of Adams and worth around $200 millon. 'When I heard that (figure), I got a little weak,' Mr Norsigian told reporters.
However the head of the Ansel Adams Gallery, Matthew Adams, who is the late photographer's grandson, was skeptical of the claim, and said in a statement that he was not convinced after being presented with evidence by Mr Norsigian's team last year.
'I think it's irresponsible to claim that they're Ansel's. We think it's a very significant claim and we think it's not accurate,' he told AOL News. -- REUTERS