Barry Plotkin traced a painting bought for under $100 at a White Plains thrift store in 1966 to Scottish Colourist Francis Cadell and auctioned it in Edinburgh on June 4, 2026.
Plotkin’s son, using Google’s Gemini AI, decoded a faint signature on the canvas and followed a back‑label that led to a Christie’s record of a £21 sale on March 18, 1966, titled "Portrait of Miss Don Wauchope."
Lyon & Turnbull specialists confirmed the work as Cadell’s "Interior: The Lady in Black" and corrected the sitter to model May Easter, noting the painting’s 1920s production in Cadell’s Ainslie Place studio.
The auction house set a pre‑sale estimate of £150,000‑£200,000, and the piece closed at £189,200, including buyer’s premium, a staggering 9,000‑fold increase over its original price.
From a 1966 thrift‑store find to a record‑setting sale, the story underscores how technology, research and expert scrutiny can unearth hidden value in overlooked art.