88-Year-Old Grandmother Sells Forgotten Painting for Nearly $254,000 After Google Gemini Check

A painting bought about 60 years ago at a secondhand store in New York for less than $100 was recently sold at auction for about $254,000, after it was found to be an original work by Scottish artist Francis Cadell, Maariv reported.

Helen Plotkin, now 88, bought the painting while visiting a secondhand shop in White Plains, New York. According to her, the vivid colors and bold brushstrokes caught her attention, and she hung the painting in her home for decades without knowing its true value. The painting shows a woman dressed in black and sitting in a domestic setting, against light shades of blue and orange. Plotkin, who holds a bachelor's degree in art, felt over the years that the work had a special quality, but did not suspect it was of significant historical or financial value.

The breakthrough came when her son Barry visited her in Florida and decided to check the painting using Google Gemini. After uploading a photo of the work, the system identified features matching Cadell's works and recommended contacting art experts. The painting was later examined by experts from the Lyon and Turnbull auction house, who confirmed the identification after further research and technical tests. According to the New York Times report, an art appraiser recently verified that it is an original Cadell work.

Despite the large sum she received, Plotkin does not intend to keep the money for herself and plans to pass it on to her sons. She said her hope is that the new buyer will display the painting publicly from time to time, so her grandchildren can see it and recognize it as "grandma's painting."