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Unemployed Man Pays $14 for Picasso Worth Thousands

Danielle Cheesman

1 year ago

Visit your local thrift store, folks!

A man found a Picasso poster in his local thrift store and paid $14.14 for it before discovering it was worth much more, according to MSNBC.

Zachary Bodish, 46 and unemployed, browsed the Ohio consignment shop before deciding on a print by the famous artist. It was of a warped face with the word "Exposition" written across the front.

Bodish was an event and volunteer coordinator at a local museum for 6 years and had always intended to restore and resell his find - as he's been doing with furniture to support himself - but he didn't know the return would be so great.

After a few Internet searches, he discovered the poster was an exhibition advertisement. And after taking a closer look at faded red writing at the corner of the poster, he found out the words were, in fact, Picasso's signature.

[ALSO READ: Smithsonian Celebrates Black History with Art]

Bodish said, "I could tell it was not a modern print. So I thought, ‘Well, it’s probably not really a fine Picasso print. What’s the chance of finding that in a thrift store in Columbus, Ohio? It wasn’t until I realized where the signature would be, and that those little red marks were right where the signature should be, that I got a stronger magnifying glass out and determined that, ‘Holy cow! It’s really a Picasso.’”

He consulted with art experts and met with a representative from Christie’s auction house to authenticate the piece.

Bodish decided to sell the print privately in April for $7,000.

“A pretty darn good return. Can’t get that at the bank," he said.

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