Painting bought for under $100 at thrift store sells for $189,200

In 1966, retired art teacher Helene Plotkin bought a painting for less than $100 at a thrift store in White Plains, New York. She liked the work enough to take it home and display it, but she had no idea that the painting was by a well-known Scottish artist.According to People's magazine, Plotkin kept the painting in her home for nearly 60 years. It was only in 2025, when her son Barry began researching it and took it for appraisal, that the family learnt more about its origins. The work was eventually identified as a painting by Scottish artist Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell, commonly known as FCB Cadell.The painting, titled “Interior: The Lady in Black”, was later offered at auction by Edinburgh-based Lyon & Turnbull. It sold for £189,200, including the buyer's premium, in June 2026.