US hospital worker paid $15.99 for Goodwill painting; later valued up to $80,000

A painting bought for just $15.99 at a Goodwill thrift store turned out to be worth tens of thousands of dollars. The buyer, an occupational therapist at a Level I trauma hospital in the United States, had started visiting thrift stores during the COVID-19 pandemic to unwind after demanding days at work. According to PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, she spotted the artwork in the store’s painting section, noticed a plaque on it and decided to take it home. She eventually hung it above her bed, unaware of its potential value. When she brought it for an appraisal in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2023, an expert identified it as a work by Vietnamese artist Le Pho.A routine thrift-store visit led to an unexpected discoveryThe woman told Antiques Roadshow that shopping at thrift stores had become a way to manage stress while working with patients recovering from serious injuries.