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A gem among the rubbish: stolen work worth more than $50,000 found in the US
What seemed like a simple walk ended in a discovery worthy of a film.
A man in the United States found among waste an original watercolour by the celebrated Canadian artist Jean-Paul Riopelle, stolen in 2021 from a gallery in Edmonton, Canada. The piece, entitled Untitled, watercolour and ink on paper, had disappeared along with four other works in a mysterious nighttime theft.
The unexpected discovery dates back four years, when this citizen says he rescued the work from a rubbish bin without knowing its origin. Years later, the piece appeared in an auction catalogue in New York, which brought the case to light and made it possible to identify it.
Riopelle, one of the great names in 20th-century Canadian art, is known for his style between surrealism and abstract expressionism, in which the creative process holds more value than the final result.
Although the new holder was willing to return the work, the former owners decided not to claim it. The reason? They had already received insurance compensation exceeding its valuation: between $50,000 and $57,000. With their consent, the find officially becomes a treasure rescued from oblivion.