STAFF REPORTER
The two paintings were extraordinary – Helen Zhuang knew that the minute she laid her eyes on them.
"I thought it was really fine art," said Zhuang, manager of the Goodwill store on Dundas St. W., who came upon the works last fall while pricing items left overnight in the donation bin. They were luminous, on canvas and framed.
She spoke to a supervisor and the two paintings were taken to an auction house for assessment.
Yesterday, the paintings by Federico Del Campo, a celebrated 19th-century painter of European scenes, were sold for a combined total of more than $150,000.
The 16-by-23-inch oils – both signed by the artist and dated 1895 – show a sunny backwater in Venice and two ships in a Venetian canal. Both were bought by an anonymous European buyer after brisk international bidding. Gavel prices were $80,700 and $78,400, respectively, at Waddington's auction house.
"There was great competition today," said Susan Robertson, head of the International Art Department at Waddington's. "The artist (Del Campo) is well-known and we expected interest."
Del Campo works typically sell for between $60,000 and $90,000, with his larger landscapes going for as much as $300,000.
The highest recorded amount paid for a Del Campo painting, another Venetian scene, is more than $600,000 (U.S.)
Born in Peru in 1837, the artist travelled to Madrid to study and travelled widely as a mature artist. He lived mostly in Italy and died there in 1927. He catered to wealthy tourists from Europe and North America, said Robertson.
"I had a conservative estimate (for the works) because with the market the way it is, you can't rely on past sales," she said. "We were happily surprised with the bids."
There was a celebratory mood at Goodwill, too.
The non-profit agency often finds nice surprises in its thrift store bins, but this was rare, spokeswoman Mitzie Hunter said last night.
"Every now and then, some kind of treasure will pop up. But this, I have to say, was definitely special."
Her agency has no way to find out who donated the paintings, she said.
"We get more than 2,500 donations every day – most are anonymous," said Hunter, acknowledging that the donor may have been unaware of the paintings' true value.
"There is always a chance of that," she said.
Hunter said the proceeds will support Goodwill programs to assist those facing employment barriers.
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