From attic to auction: A Rembrandt painting sells for $1.4M in Maine

THOMASTON, Maine — A Rembrandt discovered in an attic sold for $1.4 million.

The 17th century painting “Portrait of a Girl” by Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was discovered by art appraiser and auctioneer Kaja Veilleux in an attic in an estate in Camden, Maine. A label on the back of the frame noted that it was loaned to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for an exhibition in 1970.

“On house calls, we often go in blind, not knowing what we’ll find,” he said in a statement. “The home was filled with wonderful pieces but it was in the attic, among stacks of art, that we found this remarkable portrait.”

Rembrandt, born in 1606, was a prolific artist who focused on a variety of subjects, from portraits to landscapes to historical and biblical scenes.

“Portrait of a Girl” was painted on an oak panel and mounted in a hand-carved gold Dutch frame, Veilleux said.

An auction by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries yielded a fierce competition on Aug. 24, he said. In the end, a European collector paid $1.41 million for the painting.